Jeremy Lin deals with fame by picking up team's trash

spaceballer · Post #1 » by **spaceballer** » 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

WhateverBro · Post #2 » by **WhateverBro** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:52 pm

Jeremy Lin is truly the best human being, not just in basketball, or in America, but in the history of Western Civilization.

LApwnd · Post #3 » by **LApwnd** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:57 pm

NY knew his worth, should've gave him a contract and establish their own price instead of letting others do it for them.

jeremylinMVP · Post #4 » by **jeremylinMVP** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:10 pm

how can u not love this guy

omg

TripleC · Post #5 » by **TripleC** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:13 pm

Never liked the guy, but props to him.

ndnow · Post #6 » by **ndnow** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:13 pm

Nobody kicks a dead dog.

Darain · Post #7 » by **Darain** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:14 pm

This guy can't handle pressure

Tirion · Post #8 » by **Tirion** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:14 pm

The article makes it seem that he cares more about the perception of him being humble and not actually being humble.

NorrisColeWorld · Post #9 » by **NorrisColeWorld** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:16 pm

WhateverBro wrote:Jeremy Lin is truly the best human being, not just in basketball, or in America, but in the history of Western Civilization.

RT

abark · Post #10 » by **abark** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:18 pm

I'm as big a fan of the humble athlete as anyone. It's one of the reason's I like Durant and Rose even though I'm not a big fan of their teams. But it's one thing to not let the spotlight change you and it' another to be so seemingly uncomfortable in it.

Not changing who you are also includes not overcompensating the other way. I hope Lin can handle this because we can always use more stars that are god guys off the court, but picking up the trash and bags of his peers can make him just as unrelatable as his ego-inflated peers.

I am not bashing Lin, and it's great if you are quiet, nice, and not fame-driven like Ray Allen or Grant Hill. But much like Tebow, there is only so much of the "too good to be true" stuff fans will listen to before they start calling bull ****, regardless of whether is genuine or not. I just don't want to see being an unrealistically good person become the new standard for sports marketing.

cs hauser · Post #11 » by **cs hauser** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:20 pm

Tirion wrote:The article makes it seem that he cares more about the perception of him being humble and not actually being humble.

Huh? Humility and pride are all about perception. They're opposite sides of the same coin.

When people don't care about public perception, that's not called humility. That's apathy, and Lin never claimed he didn't care about what people thought about him.

Wone · Post #12 » by **Wone** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:21 pm

jeremylinMVP wrote:how can u not love this guy

omg

omg indeed.

MannyRam99 · Post #13 » by **MannyRam99** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:23 pm

Tirion wrote:The article makes it seem that he cares more about the perception of him being humble and not actually being humble.

Scorpion King · Post #14 » by **Scorpion King** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:26 pm

Carmelo, Dolan and JR are all terrible. How can you hate this guy ? If karma exists knicks will miss the playoffs and hopefully fans run those two thugs out of NY

Dennis 37 · Post #15 » by **Dennis 37** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:26 pm

Tirion wrote:The article makes it seem that he cares more about the perception of him being humble and not actually being humble.

Sincerity is hard to prove. If this is fake, I would wish all NBA players could at least fake it as well as Jeremy.

LApwnd · Post #16 » by **LApwnd** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:29 pm

Tirion wrote:The article makes it seem that he cares more about the perception of him being humble and not actually being humble.

still better than contionusly using the term to describe oneself and sitatuion w/o knowing/understanding that when you're humble you DONT need to tell the world you are :lol:

MannyRam99 · Post #17 » by **MannyRam99** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:30 pm

Dennis 37 wrote:
Tirion wrote:The article makes it seem that he cares more about the perception of him being humble and not actually being humble.

Sincerity is hard to prove. If this is fake, I would wish all NBA players could at least fake it as well as Jeremy.

well, I don't think he is faking being nice or polite whatever, he seems like a genuinely nice person... but it does seem as though he is trying hard to be perceived as humble, even if its not necessary.

PacificBlazer · Post #18 » by **PacificBlazer** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:31 pm

Dennis 37 wrote:
Tirion wrote:The article makes it seem that he cares more about the perception of him being humble and not actually being humble.

Sincerity is hard to prove. If this is fake, I would wish all NBA players could at least fake it as well as Jeremy.

This. At the very least he cares what people think. A quality most NBA players don't have. And time will tell whether he is sincere or not. We already know guys like JR Smith have never experienced humility or gratitude in their lives.

NBA Fan 1234 · Post #19 » by **NBA Fan 1234** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:31 pm

LApwnd wrote:NY knew his worth, should've gave him a contract and establish their own price instead of letting others do it for them.

Knicks couldn't offer as much as another team...which is why the FO told him to go out and get a contract and NY would match. Dolan got butthurt and now he's not a Knick anymore.

Not sure we need this on the GB? Shouldn't this just go in the Rockets forum?

abark · Post #20 » by **abark** » Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:33 pm

Dennis 37 wrote:Sincerity is hard to prove. If this is fake, I would wish all NBA players could at least fake it as well as Jeremy.

Tiger Woods...