Knicks Expected to Match Jeremy Lin’s $28.9 Million Offer from Rockets

The Houston Rockets set the market value for Jeremy Lin by getting him to agree to an offer sheet yesterday, and the New York Knicks are expected to match by just about every sane person. Per the NY Post: “Jeremy Lin today accepted the Rockets’ backloaded, four-year, $28.9 million offer sheet, and it’s not as poisonous as it could have been. The final year has a team option. The Knicks, ignited by having Jason Kidd agreeing to join their roster and become Lin’s mentor, are expected to match. They officially will be presented the offer sheet July 11 and will have three days. It could take them three minutes. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey presented an offer sheet late on July 4 — calling for $5 million in the first year, $5.2 million in the second year, then backloading the deal with $9.35 million in the third year and $9.35 million in the fourth. The final two years could have gone as high as $15 million each, but the Rockets didn’t come close to the ‘poison pill,’ which would have been a $40 million whopper. The third year of the deal is the only concern for Knicks owner James Dolan because it would put him deep in luxury-tax territory. In the fourth year, the contracts of Carmelo Anthony, Amar’e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler would have expired. It probably won’t change the Knicks’ thinking in being able to match Landry Fields’ offer sheet if other scenarios don’t pan out. The Knicks fully expect to re-sign shooting guard J.R. Smith for the 20-percent raise they are allowed — making his contract worth $2.8 million. If Kidd comes aboard in a sign-and-trade with Dallas, they will have their $3.09 million taxpayer mid-level available for another guard.”