Monday, July 2, 2012

No USA Select Team For Jeremy

JLin has pulled out of the USA Select team. With contracts not being able to be signed until July 11th, this was somewhat expected:

Jeremy Lin of New York Knicks, Greg Stiemsma of Boston Celtics withdraw for U.S. Select Team - ESPN

35 comments:

  1. Wow, Jeremy actually cleared his schedule just for the Select team... He must be in the "Oh shit" mode. I know what he'll say though... something like "The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away. God closes one door and opens another..." or something like that.

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    1. Coach Diepenbrock said he turned down many endorsements to focus on his training. I'm sure he can find an endorsement deal or public appearance to take up his time. But since it wasn't prearranged ahead of time, he won't get as much money. I hope he's getting the right fitness and skills training in the offseason.

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    2. yep, I'm sure Jeremy Lin talks in Authorized King James English, just like that. =)

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  2. Dumb Knicks.

    This will haunt them.

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  3. Too bad. They already gave his roster spot to Jrue Holiday, I think, so he can't rejoin later next week.

    The Knicks promised to resign Lin and said they were dedicated to doing that. Instead they are playing salary games and waiting for other teams to make a move. Apparently they think nobody's interested in paying max money, so why should they?

    BTW, other teams don't see as much value in signing him as previously thought. His injury brought down his market value a lot.

    Too bad, I was hoping Lin can become a better player by training with tram USA. Most players who trained with the elites get better by leaps and bounds. It's all about the competition.

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    1. My guess is that the Knicks want Lin, like they said, but Nash is their top priority and they'll put on a full-court press to get Nash. They can delay with Lin, but they can't delay with Nash. I also suspect that the Knicks will be willing to match higher if they don't get Nash and lower if they do get Nash.

      His injury meant a small sample size of games and no post-season to evaluate. Lin didn't return against the Heat and now he's withdrawing from the Select team. I wonder how many GMs now suspect his knee is still an issue.

      With the other teams that we believe are interested in Lin, he seems to be option B behind Nash, Williams, or both. Which means we may have to wait a while for their decisions before Lin starts receiving offers. Unless a darkhorse emerges.

      The select team experience would have been good for Lin. I hope withdrawing won't set him back as far as future participation with Team USA.

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    2. Why didn't you just come out and directly say that you don't believe in Lin's ability just like the Knicks, instead of giving the Knicks every excuse you could imagine?

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    3. I'm just speculating what the Knicks' strategy is with Lin.

      I thought the Knicks would make an offer out of the gate, too. They've signaled loudly that they want to keep Lin, but then instead of making an immediate offer, they said they'd match any offer.

      Whether or not Lin preferred to test the market anyway, the Knicks could still have tried making a conservative offer, say 3 years 5 mil per.

      They didn't. Why would the Knicks take the gamble?

      Yes, Lin may come back a lot cheaper with hat in hand if other teams don't bite, or with a fair market value contract the Knicks were planning to give Lin anyway, but they're also risking that Lin will come back with a 'poison pill' contract.

      Obviously, part of the answer is the Knicks chose to negotiate with Nash first knowing they can deal with Lin later. But I'm sure Knicks executives can multi-task. Couldn't the Knicks have dealt with Lin right out the gate and dealt with Nash?

      My guess is the Knicks want Nash badly enough so that they're giving the widest latitude for his salary first, and then they'll allocate whatever salary space is left to fill their other team needs, including re-signing Lin. That guess implies that if the Knicks sign Nash to a big contract that doesn't leave enough salary space, they'll let Lin go if he gets a max offer.

      Chances are Nash isn't signing with the Knicks, and if they don't get Nash, I think the Knicks would match a backloaded contract for Lin and figure out the 2014-15 hard cap hit later.

      While pursuing the hard-to-get Nash, I hope the Knicks don't lose sight that they need Lin. Nash with Lin makes the Knicks a stronger contender. Adding Nash at the cost of losing Lin would be a mistake.

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    4. I've followed the Knicks for decades, and that's why I'm NOT a Knick fan.

      The Knicks historically unload their young upcoming talent for overpaid "proven" superstars that good teams don't want.

      Jeremy Lin being degraded by the Knicks makes him no different from Mark Jackson, Rod Strickland, Trevor Ariza, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, David Lee, and other good players that started on the Knicks and were shipped out for less productive veterans.

      The reason the Knicks are always a bad team is because they eviscerate themselves by unloading their young talent that is considered "proven" by other teams. The Knicks are always constructed of a few grossly overpaid superstars, a bunch of washed up veterans, and some highly productive young players that will eventually forced off the team.

      To see the Knick mentality of going with washed up "proven" talent over young "unproven" players that have already demonstrated good NBA ability, read Eric's posts on this board!

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    5. # 1 j, Lin's small sample size was due to a knee injury. When there's less to review, everything there is to review looms larger. Going into the 10+ mil salary range calls for more scrutiny. Not playing with the select team as a free agent to avoid an injury is reasonable - I think Lin held out on the decision hoping to settle his contract early, which didn't happen.

      But a knee injury that ended his season is the last thing on his record. If necessary, Lin can hold private work-outs with teams, and they'll review his medical records, of course.

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    6. Hey, that's life: a weighing of nuance, pro/con, risk/reward, cost/benefit, and the perspectives of various actors individually and in combination.

      Pro: Lin's decision to withdraw is reasonable for a free agent wishing to avoid injury, especially an injury in front of an NBA audience that includes teams considering an offer. (At minimum, Woodson said he'd be there.)

      Con: In Lin's particular situation, at or near the top concern is his ability to endure an NBA season, with a focus on his season-ending knee injury. Lin could have dispelled, at least in part, those concerns by participating in basketball activity with the select team. Not participating does not dispel those concerns and can raise suspicion he's not 100%, though Lin can do other things to address the concerns.

      If we're only about supporting Lin one-dimensionally, that's easy. I want the best basketball situation for Lin where he's paid and appreciated the most, too.

      But what we're doing now as fans is speculating on the larger context of his free agency, which includes the points of view of the other actors involved. What we discover may not be pleasant, but blaming it on hate doesn't help us understand what's happening.

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  4. I think I'm smelling... Team China... It would be an honor to see Jeremy play in the China uniform.

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  5. As a Taiwanese American, I very much was looking forward to enjoying Lin in a Team USA uniform.

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  6. There would be a huge difference in roles for Jeremy when comparing team china and USA. If he plays for china, he would be the star and playing heavy minutes. If he plays for USA,he will have to compete with the ball hogs and attention whores like lebron mela or Kobe. Easy choice here for anyone with common sense.

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    1. GTFO!! He's American!! He'll never play for communist!

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    2. LOL. By China, you mean the entire 1.3 billion people? Way to tar an entire nation, man.

      And playing for Team China did not "destroy" Yao Ming. That's an idiotic lie that certain Houston Rockets fans were peddling as part of their blame game for Yao's injuries. I believe even Jonathan Feigen, columnist for the Houston Chronicle, questioned this ludicrous assertion at the time.

      Yao was a 7'5" dude weighing over 300 pounds trying to play an 82-game schedule (not including playoffs) in the most intense, competitive league in the world. If anything, the sheer grind of the NBA is what destroyed Yao.

      By your logic, perhaps, one should ask why America destroyed Yao's career like that?

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    3. A few years ago, I read a lengthy article (I forget where) about the pattern of chronic injuries in basketball players who are taller than 7'2" or 7'3" (I forget which).

      This article talks about the same thing:
      http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903999904576466280330481732.html

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  7. I really can' t stand all the haters that are bashing him right now. So i came to this forum to find some comfort from all u Lin's fanboy but instead i found as much negativity especially @eric who always tried to overblown Lin's shortcomings and always siding with the knicks over their treatment of JLin. seriously just come out of your sheepskin and reveal yourself, i bet you're white!! Hah!!

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    1. Welcome to the forum, 777am.

      You've come to the right place. Here Lin fanatics like me were proclaiming All Star status for him in January. We know Lin's game better than anybody in the NBA does.

      Lin is singlehandedly battling racism from people that think that he's too physically frail and unskilled to be in the NBA. And Lin is WINNING.

      Let's give Lin all the support he can get with our collective voice. It WILL help him.

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    2. Yeah, those haters like Eric just simply don't believe in Lin's ability as a player. But sadly it looks like the Knicks management share the same thinking as him. But it's no big news. They are the same management who nearly cut Lin. They are clueless for more than a decade. The mere fact that they are pursuing another PG speaks volume loudly about how they evaluate Lin as a player. You don't see Boston chasing Nash or thinking about starting Nash over Rondo. For me, Lin is already at the same level as Rondo and better than Nash. Only the haters think otherwise. I sincerely hope that the Knicks' mismanagement of Lin eventually backfires on them.

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    3. @cara and 777am totally agree. Let's show our support to JLin.

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  8. I suspect that Jeremy Lin is not going to be a Knick for long.

    If Lin is still a Knick, the Knicks will get a veteran PG and start him over Lin. But Lin will MAUL that player in practice, no matter who that veteran is. The veteran will perform shakily in games and Lin will steal his minutes until Lin is the starter or gets traded for nothing.

    Lin is the best young pg in the NBA. This summer's mistreatment is going to turn him into a MONSTER. Look out, NBA.

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    1. Explain, 000.

      Lin already beat down $12 million Baron Davis in practice.

      He'll do the same to any player that gets started over him.

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  9. Pardon my ignorance, but can someone tell me why Lin withdrew just because he is a free agent? I don't get the connection. I would have thought all the more he should have played because I'm sure he would have performed well and increased his profile even more. Won't these enhance his free agency value?

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    1. Lin just stuck his middle finger up at the Knicks.

      The Select team will not accept any player that does not have a signed contract. However, the deadline of signing is close enough to the start of camp that Lin could get signed and immediately step right in. A simple handshake agreement from the Knicks to USA Basketball about Lin's future contract would solve that.

      Instead, the Knicks choose to let the market determine his value. I'm sure that Lin's new agents have instructed him to punish the Knicks for letting him hang out to rot.

      "I'd be playing for the Select Team, but the Knicks won't let me". That's how I read Lin's statement.

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    2. There's no USA Basketball policy to keep free agents from the select team anymore than they keep non-pros from competing at lower levels of USA Basketball. But the decision makes sense for the free agent. David Lee dropped from the select team in 2008 for the same reason.

      But yeah, if Lin had agreed to a contract with the Knicks or another team, I'm inclined to believe he would have participated. I feel bad for Lin. It would have been a good training experience. I think he would have impressed and taken a solid step toward joining the senior team.

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    3. And notice how David Lee was a Knick?

      Like I said, the Knicks ship out their young All Star talent for aging cancerous No Star talent.

      David Lee was kicked off the team to make room for Amare Stoudemire and his uninsured max contract. The Knicks threw away a healthy young All Star power forward for an unhealthy older ex All Star.

      Soon Jeremy Lin will likely be what David Lee and Mark Jackson and Bernard King were: ex Knick rejects who came back to haunt their former team.

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  10. @KHuang : I like your thinking. However I feel very sad after reading below post from NY Post. JLin has to keep proving himself over,over and over again...Why? Is it really a perfect plan from God like Lin said?

    http://m.nypost.com/p/sports/knicks/no_lin_lease_H5Ut8KMGj8T0Ib4QVy5gVM?utm_medium=rss&utm_c%20cdth=Knicks

    "Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald is essentially playing a game of chicken with Lin. The Post reported Saturday he will not offer Lin the maximum four-year, $24 million early-Bird deal."
    "The undrafted Lin has his critics with such a short body of NBA work, getting starter’s minutes for a 26-game stretch. He hasn’t played since left-knee surgery in March. Said one NBA scout: “The Knicks will wind up overpaying him. He’s just not that good. I don’t know if he’s even better than Raymond Felton. When playoff time comes and the focus is on him, we’ll see. It could be like that game versus Miami.’’ "

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    1. This is nothing new to Lin.

      I sincerely hope that Nash does sign with the Knicks and Lin end up somewhere less. I so want to see what they would write when Nash flops and Lin becomes an All-Star. It would be so humorous. NYC deserves this and no more.

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    2. Agree with this, I want to see Lin succeed on another team while NY fans cry and whine about it.

      I'm sure if it happens there will be yet more comments like "nobody saw this coming, who knew Lin would become an all-star?"

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    3. Jeremy Lin has already proved himself far more than any young player (less than 5 years experience) in the NBA has.

      The thing about "proving" is that it goes both ways. Just as Lin proves himself to be the best young pg in the league (sorry Kyrie Irving and John Wall, but your games aren't even close yet), other highly touted pgs are proving themselves to be lesser players than the hype given them.

      New York fans ADORE their Jeremy Lin. He's gotten more fan favoritism from the Knick crowd than any Knick I've ever seen play other than Patrick Ewing.

      For every one hater of Lin's race, there are probably about 3 admirers of his game. That's why Lin is the $300 million dollar man!

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  11. I think we'll have to wait for a while until the signing deadline. It sounds like the Knicks don't value Lin, at least not as much as "big name" stars like Nash.
    It was the same situation with Lebron, CP3, and Dwight Howard. All the hype in the world ... and ludicrously small chances these guys would ever choose New York. Face it, the Knicks are not a championship caliber franchise, everyone knows it. The only way they can attract veteran players is to overpay them at the end of their careers.

    Grunwald is making the same mistake this time. Trying to grab some big name talent, when he really has no chance.

    Meanwhile Toronto is close to signing Landry Fields. Knicks don't value their young developing talent enough to keep them ... something needs to change about the culture of this team.

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