Report: Rockets, Lin agree on four-year offer sheet
With files from The Associated Press
Restricted free agent Jeremy Lin and the Houston Rockets have reportedly agreed on a four-year offer-sheet worth $28 million. According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports on twitter, the deal breaks down to $5 million in year one, $5.2 million in year two, $9.3 million in year three and $9.3 million in a team-option fourth year.
Under the terms of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement, nothing can be signed until July 11, and the Knicks will have three days to match the offer after that date. Terms of the offer-sheet have not yet been released.
The Rockets waived Lin last December and he was claimed by the Knicks, turning into a breakout star when he landed the starting point guard job.
The Rockets liked Lin, but had Kyle Lowry and Dragic ahead of him and needed to open a spot so they could add Samuel Dalembert to the roster. So they waived Lin, a decision general manager Daryl Morey would later write on Twitter that he regretted during Lin's sensational February stretch that made him the biggest story in the NBA.
The undrafted guard from Harvard, the NBA's first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese decent, would fit nicely with the Rockets, who remain popular in Asia even after former center Yao Ming's retirement.
But both coach Mike Woodson and general manager Glen Grunwald have said the Knicks planned to keep Lin, who averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists in 35 games, 25 starts, before his season ended because of surgery to repair torn knee cartilage.
The Knicks may have to match two offers to keep their starting backcourt intact. Landry Fields plans to sign an offer sheet with the Toronto Raptors that his agency said is worth about $20 million over three years.
The Knicks, who were also looking for veteran point guard help, agreed with Jason Kidd on a three-year contract worth $9 million earlier on Thursday. But they don't want to lose Lin, whose popularity made them fans around the world and had merchandise flying off the shelves at Madison Square Garden. They scored their highest TV ratings in years during the height of ``Linsanity.''
