Jeremy Lin really made a name for himself back in the 2011-12 season when he played with the New York Knicks. "Linsanity" swept the city and you couldn't find a bigger star in New York than Jeremy Lin but he became a free agent after that season and the Knicks decided not to re-sign him. After finishing up his three year contract that he played out between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, Lin was an unrestricted free agent again and he reportedly was open to a return to New York, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News.
Lin instead signed a two year deal with the Charlotte Hornets worth more than $4 million. When Lin officially became a free agent one of the first calls his agent made was to the Knicks to see how much interest they had and the answer, according to Lin, was a definitive none. "There was no conversation other than them telling me they weren't interested," said Lin.
The Knicks aren't exactly stacked at the point guard position as they plan to start Jose Calderon and use rookie Jerian Grant or Langston Galloway as his backup but they still were not looking at Lin as an option. Owner James Dolan reportedly felt deceived and under-appreciated by Lin back when he became a restricted free agent so a reunion was not something he wanted.
"I've always been open to it, ever since I, you know, I don't want to say I necessarily left, ever since they decided they didn't want to re-sign me, but I've always been open to it. But I don't think they're as open to it," said Lin.
The 27 year old Harvard graduate said that he and Dolan never really spoke when he was on the team so there wasn't much of a relationship there and they also have not spoken since he left. Knicks head coach Derek Fisher said he had nothing to do with the decision to not bring in Lin but did call him a good player who clearly belongs in the NBA.
Things will probably work out just fine for Lin anyway as the Hornets are happy to have him and owner Michael Jordan even said he was the teams "biggest acquisition" this offseason. After being somewhat underwhelming over the past three seasons Lin thinks he will be used correctly in Charlotte and get back to the player he was when he was a Knick.
In his one season with the Knicks Lin played in 35 games and averaged 14.6 points, 6.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 26.9 minutes per game while shooting 45 percent from the field. "Linsanity" returning to New York would have made for a great story but it just wasn't in the cards.
