Here's a link to todays press conference:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CVyPH_c_djI
Here's some pictures from today:
http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2012/07/lin-leaves-new-york-spotlight-walks-into-situation-with-more-pressure/#6408-1
Rachel Nichols ESPN Interview:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:8182384
Well done! Congratulations JLin! You're the same eloquent , charming , humble guy who touched our hearts in such a special way last season... Can't wait to see you next season! All the best to you in Houston!
ReplyDeleteMaybe he's just putting on a front, but Jeremy seems somewhat naive. Young man, realize that you are in the REAL WORLD. Not everybody is your friend. I mean, I'd hope he was perceptive enough to realize those thugs (Melo, JR, & Woodson) were stabbing him in the back all this time. If it was me, I'd fight them. I'd straight up confront them, CAA be damned. I guess Lin is what he is (because of his religion), but that's what I'd do. Hopefully it's just a front.
ReplyDeleteOne thing's for sure, he better not give Mike Woodson a hug next season like he gave Keith Dumb a hug. Woodson is a faker. He has such a punchable face, it's not even funny. Also, I hope Lin glares and lets out a primal yell at James Dolan after he makes a big play in MSG.
He knows the score. He's simply being diplomatic.
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DeleteLin is an athlete, not an actor or a politician. He's spent most of his life perfecting his basketball skill.
DeleteHe's actually not very bright with words. Whenever asked any hard questions, he just says, "Um, I don't know." or just defers to "Thanks to God."
And that's OK, he's not a super genius, even though he went to Harvard. Probably didn't totally understand the details of contract he was signing. It's not his fault for not playing hardball with Houston.
Lin's naiveness makes him the target of bad guys.
DeleteThat naiveness also makes him endearing and POWERFUL.
Instead of getting swept up in a maelstrom of political wastage, Lin plays the team game and tries to win. He lets his handlers deal with all the other stuff. That's why politics and pressure have no effect on him.
Lin conducts himself with the naivete of a CHAMPION.
I find Lin to be very media-savvy in his responses. The American English tics in his speech and his devout Christianity don't take away from that.
DeleteLin gives the media what he wants to give them, not what they want from him. Other than the '85%' blow-up, I don't recall any other quotable missteps from him.
Once again, Eric, you find a way to trash Lin for another imaginary "misstep" that exists only in your own mind.
DeleteLin couldn't play, so he didn't play. 85%, 95%, 99%, doesn't matter what he tells anybody. If he didn't play, that means he couldn't play.
Lin tries to talk right so that OUTRIGHT HATERS like you don't twist his words like you keep doing.
As long as you keep trying to invent stuff about Lin, Eric, I and others here will keep calling you on it. We're not going to let a hater like you mislead others about Lin.
K, my response was to ABC Baller's comment about Lin's media communication ability. Whether Lin could or should have played in the Heat series is a different issue.
DeleteYeah, and that Heat issue is where I take issue with you.
DeleteAs usual, you intimate that Lin made a "misstep" by telling people that he was 85% to play.
The only thing that matters is that Lin wasn't healthy enough to play. What percentage he puts on it doesn't matter.
I personally don't care what Lin says in he media, nor do I truly care what they say about him. But when a pro athlete is injured and says he can't play, HE CAN'T PLAY.
I won't let you sow seeds of discord about Jeremy Lin's toughness.
I'm impressed at how well owner Les Alexander understands what Lin is about.
ReplyDeleteHe is a huge Lin fan and followed Lin like we have. When it came time to bid for Lin, Alexander played hardball and got Lin back.
Daryl Morey is the public face of the Rockets, but Les Alexander is the main power to deal with. He's the one that bashed the Knicks around and ripped Lin away from them.
found this thread on the knick's board on realgm. quite alarming. says CAA represents the circle of elite nba players including lebron, wade, paul, howard, and not so elite players like dwill, melo and jr smith, and a lot of media people that bashes lin including isola and possibly SAS? they have a lot of influence beyond just recruiting great players because they have access to stars and owners like dolan..
ReplyDeletetitled "CAA: The REAL POWER behind the DEPARTURE of LIN from NY"
http://forums.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=1197378&p=32816376#p32816376
It's like this, when the RFA period began ... the Knicks did not give Lin an initial offer. They had proposed to offer around 3-years $14 million, but this was never made into a qualifying offer in writing, it was only a suggestion.
ReplyDeleteKnicks 1st Option: Sign and trade for Steve Nash. They would only have the midlevel and some spare change to pay him about 3-years @ 8 million per. Nash NEVER took the Knicks offer seriously, he went to the Lakers.
2nd Option: Bring back Raymond Felton ... Now this is interesting, several sources tweeted that Felton attended Dolan's 4th of July party in NYC. While Jeremy Lin was in Houston visiting the Rockets , Felton was at the party telling people that for sure, he was going to be a Knick.
This is significant, because Felton's agents insisted that he would NOT PLAY for the Knicks if Lin was still there. He wanted assurances that he will be the starting PG.
3rd Option: OK, so now the Knicks are in serious negotiations with Felton, while Lin is getting his first offer from the Rockets, 4 years 28 mill. They STILL want to keep the Lin option open until they finalize the sign & trade w/ Portland for Felton. They refused to accept the delivery of Lin's offer sheet from the Rockets. Finally they receive it on Saturday night. Felton comes in a sign and trade deal. Knicks refuse to match Lin's offer.
Tuesday 11:59PM, Lin becomes a Rocket.
Conclusion: The Knicks never had the intention of re-signing Jeremy Lin. He was literally their last option C, just in case they can't Nash and Felton. They waited for Lin to go get an offer from another team .... so they can at least have an EXCUSE not to re-sign him.
Read this article series: ESPN, Six degrees of Separation
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8180308/nba-jeremy-lin-six-degrees-separation-family
And it WORKED.
DeleteNY got the veterans they wanted, Houston got the young PG it wanted.
This is the NBA where everybody plays each other. Hopefully, everybody got what they wanted.
Although Melo's performance in the first 3 months of the last season had been disappointing, he's always the centerpiece of the team. Dimmed by Linsanity, he had finally reinforced his position by his 17 games under Woodson when Lin was down. Melo’d played his best games without Lin and Lin’d played his best without Melo. The Knick management have more confidence in Melo than Lin and they have invested too much in Melo not to back him up. Their priority was to build the roster around Melo to cater his need on court. They believe it was Melo who single handedly brought the team into playoff in April and with reliable PGs who can make good passes to Melo, the Knicks would be a championship contender. Therefore, they considered Felton & Kidd would fit/service Melo better. They had no intention to resign Lin unless he's contract was really cheap.
DeleteRegarding the rumors that Dolan was pissed at Morey's upping the offer and Lin's disloyalty, so he decided not to match, it's just a cover to deflect the criticism. Although fans are angry, it's a good excuse to cover up their lies and callousness to Lin and to protect Melo from blame.
Even so, I'm happy with the results. After all it's good for Lin to join the Rockets.
Lower body strength (Legs and butt) and core strength (Abs and back) are more important in the NBA than upper body strength. I hope his trainers know what they're doing.
ReplyDeleteAnd Lin needs to start playing his game differently. Constant hard drives to his right, puts a lot of pressure on his left knee. He needs to balance going right/left.
He doesn't need to leave his feet to shoot layups and floaters. Shooting those on with feet on the floor can fool defenders and make it harder to block.
Also needs more of an "outside game" if he doesn't have a clear path to the rim. More outside shooting and perimeter passing. I know it's not as exciting as an "And One" layup ... but it will ensure a longer career like Steve Nash.
Thanks for linking this.
ReplyDeleteAt 11:36, when Lin's asked about Melo and J.R., he says, "I love Carmelo and J.R., and I’ve never had any issues with them," and then he seems to pause, and then the video seems to get interrupted. Was there a video interruption or was that just a weird pause?
Liked the way Alexander backed up Lin at 16:34.
ah, the whole press conference is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=CVyPH_c_djI
ReplyDeleteHere's the full quote:
"I love Carmelo and J.R., and I’ve never had any issues with them... and I just know my relationship with them and they've been very supportive and they were great teammates last year. You know, that's kind of it."