Linball

Gotcha. I wasn't sure if the amnesty clause was something that teams could do going forward, say once every five years or something like that. I figured they couldn't, because then there'd be no question about signing him, but I wasn't clear on the rule, so I thought I'd ask.

 

This thread needs one more page to equal the games Lin played last season.

 

No, but it probably wouldn't be that hard to deal his expiring contract to someone for cap space if he turned out to be crap heading into his last year.

 

Even if you trade him, unless someone is $15M under the cap, you have to take back the same amount of salary and take the same luxury tax hit (probably $45M).

 

nice take

 

Melo is about 3 years behind the Amare' career arc.

 

Knicks already used amnesty on Billups last year.

 

Ian O'Connor nails it with this column.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/story/_/id/8175454/ian-oconnor-new-york-knicks-make-major-blunder-letting-jeremy-lin-leave

 

I have never heard of a current player, like Carmelo, call another player's contract offer 'ridiculous'.

I have never heard of a teammate, like Carmelo, call another player's contract offer 'ridiculous'.

 

I think people are misreading what Carmelo was saying when he called the contract "ridiculous." I thought he was talking about the structure of the deal, not the value.

It is a ridiculous contract. If it was just a $7 million/year deal, I don't think anyone would have batted an eye. But the contract was designed specifically to destroy cap space in the third year. The fact that Lin was going to sign one that jumped to $9m in the the third year and Rockets added $5m more to that season so the Knicks wouldn't match the offer makes it ridiculous.

It may have happened before, but I don't remember any teams doing that in the past. Lin didn't even have to negotiate for that last $5m. The Rockets just handed it to him.

If anything, I think Anthony was upset that Lin won't be back because now the Knicks will have to rely on Raymond Felton and the corpse of Jason Kidd.

"I mean, what other point guards are we going to get at this point?"

I think people are too eager to blame anything and everything on Carmelo with zero factual basis to back it up. It reminds me of how people were saying Carmelo wouldn't be able to play with Lin when he came back from injury and then he came back and the offense continued to run just fine.

As someone else noted, it was Anthony who pushed D'Antoni to insert Lin into the lineup against New Jersey and he has said all along he hoped to get Lin back.

 

It's an Insider link so I can't read the whole thing, but ESPN.com has a headline that Larry Coon says the Knicks should match. So that's enough for me to believe the cap/tax issue isn't nearly as debilitating as believed, and the Knicks are using it as an excuse.

 

I have never heard another teammate comment on a current player's contract negotiations (except to support the player). Not saying its never happened. Just saying I can't recall.

I think Carmelo is a royal shithead, but on the court and off. That's just me.