Jeremy Lin deals with fame by picking up team's trash
Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:50 pm
Quite the opposite of how others deal with fame, it seems. Sounds just like when he went to the D-League and gave up his 1st class tickets to teammates.
Bay Area News Group wrote:Jeremy Lin exclusive: I will always have haters
By Marcus Thompson II
mthomps2@bayareanewsgroup.com
Posted: 07/23/2012 01:58:17 PM PDT
Updated: 07/23/2012 02:13:59 PM PDT
Jeremy Lin is selfish. He's motivated by money. His ego has spun out of control. And to top it off, he's a basketball fluke who already has maxed out on the court.
That's what Lin has been hearing and reading about himself these past couple of weeks.
"It did kind of hurt," Lin said Sunday in an exclusive interview with the Bay Area News Group. "I had to remind myself who I'm living for. . I know my actions, and I know I would change nothing if I could go back."
It has been a rollercoaster offseason for Lin, who is still recovering from April 2 surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee. He again found himself part of the national news, but this time in a much-less favorable light.
His signing of a three-year offer sheet with Houston sparked a national debate about whether New York would match. Many people said he wasn't worth the money, especially since the bloated third year of the deal (which escalated Lin's salary to $14.8 million) could cost the Knicks upwards of $40 million. Lin was criticized for how things went down; some people alleged that he deceived the Knicks and used them to get more money.
At the end of it all, Lin finds himself back in the same place he was last year. Even after his magical run with the Knicks - now known as Linsanity - that made him a superstar . Even after he signed a $25 million contract earlier this month with the Rockets,Lin is back to needing to prove himself.
But the crazy year in between, he said, taught him a valuable lesson.
"I will always, always have doubters," Lin said. "But I really want to reach my potential to bring glory to God. That is more motivation than haters and doubters. I want to work just as hard, give just as much, as if I had no haters."
Linsanity reached ridiculous proportions after Lin put up 38 points and seven assists in a win over the Lakers - after Kobe Bryant dismissed Lin's early success. Lin said things peaked after his game-winning three-pointer at Toronto.
Walking the streets was no longer possible. So was watching television without seeing people talk about him.
Lin said he sensed the problems it could cause, so he took extra efforts to avoid the perception he was letting it get to his head. He said he turned down every late night talk show and started limited interview requests. Every press conference, he made sure to lift up his teammates. He said he went the extra mile with the little stuff -- picking up others' trash on the team plane, volunteering to carry bags of veterans, opening doors, initiating conversations -- just to keep people from thinking that success would change him.
He even passed up millions and millions of dollars by rejecting endorsement deals. He wound up signing just two, Volvo and Steiner Sports (he already had a Nike deal). He said it wouldn't have looked good if he racked up endorsements and spent his time away from the court making appearances and doing commercials.
"It just comes down to knowing who I am as a person," Lin said. "People who know me know I didn't want all this. I didn't ask for this. It was uncomfortable."
That's why Lin was enjoying his offseason. He stayed at home with his parents, enjoyed his family and friends. He had fanfare in the Bay Area, but it wasn't nearly as hectic. Lin's only concern was getting healthy. He assumed all along he would re-sign with the Knicks, which is where he wanted to play.
One problem: the Knicks never gave him a contract.
Houston, which had identified Lin as a primary offseason target, swooped in and made him an offer. It was Houston that told him how much it wanted him, that it believed in him.
Additionally, it was Houston that pulled the original offer sheet --four years, $28 million, paying $9 million in the third and fourth years -- and offered the new deal with the bigger poison pill.
"I didn't go back to them and ask for more money," Lin said. "It wasn't like they gave me the choice to sign one of the two and I chose the one that would hurt the Knicks. I had one contract offer. That was it."
Lin said he's happy to be in Houston. He said he hasn't been promised he would start, though in 25 starts with New York he averaged 18.2 points and 7.7 assists. Lin said he doesn't need such guarantees. He said the only thing that matters is he gets an opportunity to produce. With the Knicks, Lin averaged 20.7 points and 8.1 assists when he played 30 minutes or more.
Some people think he won't be able to do what he did in New York. But Lin, noting he's only 23 entering his third year in the league, said he's only going to get better.
And even if his numbers don't follow him to Houston, Lin know knows the attention will. Does he want all the hype to stop?
"Absolutely."
Does he think it will once he gets to Houston?
"No. No chance," Lin said. "The only way it will is if I fade out and get worse and worse. But I plan on getting better."
http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_21139356
