ibraheim718 wrote:KnicksGod wrote:I wonder if the Knicks even thought to communicate with Lin's agent and simply say:
"Obviously we don't know whether your client wants to return to the Knicks and we certainly do want him back. And we know you can get more from another team than you can from us so it's perfectly reasonable and the right thing to do for you to shop around the league for a better deal than the Knicks can offer you."
"But so we are clear, a $15M balloon payment in the third year is not workable for us. Our owner has drawn a line because of the big contracts on our books in year 3 and because of the new luxury tax. So I want to make that clear."
"Good luck, let us know what offer you get and what you decide."
Then at least Lin knows the deal and if he really wants NY, maybe he takes that first offer sheet from Houston and not the second one.
I am guessing strongly that no such communication was made to Lin and that is gross incompetence.
KG they never wanted him... the only way he was coming back is if on July 1st he came crawling to Dolans office and kissed the ring on his finger... because you know Dolan has accomplished so much in his life and had so much to teach young Jeremy.
You don't think they'd have matched at $9M per? I think so. They just let the situation get out of their control with a lack of communication.
It's one thing to just lose a player to an injury, or age, or a contract offer you literally can't meet ... it's a whole other thing to kick the ball away this badly with negligence and malpractice.
They could have at least communicated with Lin and then you can say -- "We told you not to sign a balloon payment deal if you wanted to come back to New York" and let him go with a conscience that is free and clear.
It's a whole other thing to have played your hand so badly, and let this get out of control. It's up to Grunwald and the others to make sure that the communication lines stay open and people are on the same page.
It is absolutely their fault that things became derailed.
And in the end, even if you draw a line in the sand and Lin crosses it, you have the peace of mind knowing that he didn't really want to be a Knick or was trying to call your bluff.
Of course, we know better and the Knicks could fairly easily have unloaded contracts in Year 3 in order to avoid the big luxury tax hit. Hell, they didn't need to extend all these contracts into Year 3 with guys we don't even need (especially if we're not bringing back Lin).
Novak $3M
Kidd $3M
Camby $3M
Felton $3M
All of these guys are useless in three years and nearly equal Lin's cap hit that season. Hell they're useless now because they are aging/mediocre players and our team is not in position to contend for a title.
Why even have these guys on the roster now? So you can PRETEND to CONTEND. Because without Lin, you're pretenders.
Hell that should be our new slogan: PRETEND TO CONTEND in 2012-2013 with your NEW YORK KNICKS.
