Melo: Lin 'one of the franchise players' in Brooklyn

For better or worse, Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin will always be linked through NBA lore, by the magical, mystifying six-odd weeks in the spring of 2012, in which Lin improbably tore up the league, became a cult hero, and threatened to wrest control of the New York Knicks from Anthony.

Four-and-a-half years later, Anthony is still New York's lead dog, while Lin is playing for his fourth team since Linsanity swept the nation. But he's landed on his feet, signing a three-year, $36-million contract this summer that's brought him back to the greater New York area as a member of the Brooklyn Nets.

Before the Knicks and Nets squared off in the preseason Saturday - a game Lin sat out - Anthony was asked about his former teammate's situation.

"He is the face of that franchise (Brooklyn), believe it or not," Anthony told reporters. "He came up, they paid him and now the ball is in his hands. "So now he's one of the franchise players over there. What do you want me to say about that? I'm happy for him, excited for him to see how it's going to work out, turn out over there."

There have been rumors over the years that Anthony was less than thrilled with Lin's attention and adulation in New York - rumors Anthony has repeatedly denied. Last season, Amar'e Stoudemire - another member of that Knicks team - suggested that "everyone wasn't a fan" of Lin's turn in the spotlight, though Anthony said he doubted Stoudemire was implicating him.

In any event, it's likely to be a bumpy beginning for Lin in Brooklyn. He's turned out to be a solid NBA point guard, but if he can reasonably be considered the face of the Nets, the franchise is a hot mess. They were a 21-win team last year, and that was before Thaddeus Young - their second-most productive player - was shipped to Indiana.

The return of Linsanity is about the only possibility standing between the Nets and futility.