Lin: "Honestly, I preferred New York"

Newly-acquired Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin says that he preferred to play in New York, according to SI.com.

"Honestly, I preferred New York," Lin said. "But my main goal in free agency was to go to a team that had plans for me and wanted me."

Lin was hoping that the Knicks would match the three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet that the Rockets submitted, but shortly before the deadline passed to match, Lin received a phone call telling him otherwise.

"We wanted to keep you, but it couldn't work out. Tell your family I say hello, and good luck the rest of the way," Knicks general manager Glen Grunwald told Lin in the very short phone call.

Lin expressed relief that the circus was over, but still held some regrets that he would not be able to continue his career in front of the New York fans that helped usher him into stardom.

"What New York did for me was unbelievable," Lin said. "I wanted to play in front of those fans for the rest of my career."