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Lin was 'really, really sad' he couldn't remain with Knicks

Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The phenomenon that was "Linsanity" invigorated The Big Apple for a stretch of the 2011-12 NBA campaign, as Jeremy Lin once brought life to a New York Knicks franchise that was slowly becoming an afterthought, despite its storied history and vast basketball market.

When it came down to brass tacks, the Knicks were unwilling to spend the money to keep the Harvard alumnus around for the long haul, with some of his now former teammates reportedly closed-minded to the idea of him being one of the city's stars.

"I was really, really sad. I was sad the way everything went down, ’cause nothing happened the way I thought it was going to," Lin told The New York Post's Steve Serby. "I had wished that they had offered me a contract just in the beginning, and that didn’t even happen. And then, when I found out that they weren’t gonna match, I was even more sad, ’cause honestly, I wanted to finish my career there."

Related: Jeremy Lin: Overnight success 'became a burden'

Lin received a three-year, $25.1-million offer sheet from the Houston Rockets, with Knicks owner James Dolan reportedly upset over the point guard restructuring his contract to bump up his third-year salary, which would have imposed serious salary-cap implications on New York had the organization matched. He apparently took it as a betrayal of sorts, as he had provided Lin an opportunity to play after he had been cut by both the Rockets and Golden State Warriors.

The Knicks won nine of 11 games from Feb. 4-22, with Lin averaging 23.9 points on 50 percent shooting, 9.2 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.4 steals during that span. The New York faithful embraced the overnight sensation with open arms, making him one of the feel-good stories of the league.

"I wanted to play for those fans who rallied behind that city, that came behind us and gave me that experience. I felt like I owed it to them," Lin said when asked why he wanted to continue being a Knick.

The 27-year-old recently agreed to a new three-year, $36-million contract to return to the state, only this time he'll be donning Brooklyn Nets colors at the Barclays Center.

"This isn’t the re-creation of Linsanity (smile), this is, for me, just the next chapter," Lin added. "That’s all I’m gonna focus on. If people want to call it whatever they want to call it, they can go ahead and do that, but I’ve kind of set out to see how good I can become and see how good I can make this team.

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