Lindecision and Reality

As you should already know Jeremy Lin is a member of the Houston Rockets. If you didn't know this I must assume the rock you live under is soundproof and/or you care not about sports and news in general. I commend you for perfecting the hermetic lifestyle if this is the case.

Yesterday I tweeted a short string of stats comparing Lin to Raymond Felton during their tenure as Knicks point guards. The numbers tell us that Felton, who played twice as many games as a Knick than Lin, was more effective in the assists category and scored about as much as Lin did during the period dubbed "Linsanity." Of course, Knicks fans who watch Knicks games regardless of how "terrible" the team is/was know this. They also know that Felton has averaged about 1.2 steals per game; his defense is pretty good.
Stats aside, Lin became too expensive for a Knicks team that has put together a core of proven veteran players. His current contract was manufactured by minds expelled from the underworld, sent to Wall Street, and hired by Houston just in time for free agency. They looked over the Knicks financial situation and put Dolan in a precarious position as their job asks of them.
I am curious as to Lin's role in all of this. Yes, the Rockets offered him an obscene amount of money- about 1 million per Linsanity game while with the Knicks. Yes, people would have called him all sorts of things for not accepting. But, the entity known as Jeremy Lin seems to have lost his free will and let his agent pack and ship him to Texas. If Jeremy Lin wanted to be a Knick he would have taken a lesser contract and suited up as our starting point guard. Players have taken millions less before because their chances of winning increased with a certain team, and I highly doubt anyone thinks the Rockets will be winning anything anytime soon. Let's just be realistic.
We can also conclude that even if Lin plays to Linsanity level throughout the entire season the Rockets may still not make playoffs in a Western Conference which doesn't just let you in. So, I wonder why he did not make an attempt to maneuver his way back into New York. If it's about the money, well, you won't get paid as much to play basketball but you would make up for that with sponsorships.
Double tisk, Jeremy.
I must say, I am impressed with the Knicks decision to let Lin go. All of our free agency moves point towards the desire to win now and have the ability to restructure the team if it doesn't work two-three years down the road. Matching Lin's contract would have hindered future flexibility. Health has been an issue and if the stars align just right the Knicks can roll with an impressive front court, a sturdy back court, and a decent bench into the playoffs.
As a Knicks fan I'm excited in a realist sort of way.

- Alex