grantland article on james dolan letting lin walk

[jyyzzoel]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8174968/jeremy-lin-leaving-new-york-knicks-james-dolan-blundered-again

[Yoki_IsTheName]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8174968/jeremy-lin-leaving-new-york-knicks-james-dolan-blundered-again

It's just...

I couldn't imagine Dolan willing to pay luxury tax on the likes of Eddy Curry, Stephon Marbury, and already past his prime Penny and Steve Francis and yet he couldn't pay the luxury tax for Lin? Which, his business side alone, would probably pay for half of his contract already. What a dysfunctional ownership they have over there.

[mctyson]

I guess the theory here is that Lin did this to himself.  He went out and got a competing offer from another team (nothing wrong with that). When the other team enacted a "poison pill" strategy on the final year of the 3-year deal, instead of Lin and his agent rejecting it they signed it (again, nothing wrong with that, it's his payday.)

Dolan probably looks at Lin as a guy that New York, and only the city of New York, could create.  Let's face it - Lin doesn't have that kind of meteoric rise anywhere else in the league.  Dolan then sees this same guy run off to Houston and sign a contract that wildly overpays him, specifically in the 3rd year, so that matching the offer would cripple the Knicks tax wise.  Dolan considers this disrespectful and says to Lin "congratulations and good luck."  There is something wrong with that...it is letting emotion get in the way of running your business.

I have bashed Dolan for this move, and it was a stupid business decision.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

I guess the theory here is that Lin did this to himself.  He went out and got a competing offer from another team (nothing wrong with that). When the other team enacted a "poison pill" strategy on the final year of the 3-year deal, instead of Lin and his agent rejecting it they signed it (again, nothing wrong with that, it's his payday.)

Dolan probably looks at Lin as a guy that New York, and only the city of New York, could create.  Let's face it - Lin doesn't have that kind of meteoric rise anywhere else in the league.  Dolan then sees this same guy run off to Houston and sign a contract that wildly overpays him, specifically in the 3rd year, so that matching the offer would cripple the Knicks tax wise.  Dolan considers this disrespectful and says to Lin "congratulations and good luck."  There is something wrong with that...it is letting emotion get in the way of running your business.

I have bashed Dolan for this move, and it was a stupid business decision.

I read your post and to me it seems that Dolan didn't match it for personal reasons? That's even more stupid of him.

[ChainSmokingLikeDino]

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8174968/jeremy-lin-leaving-new-york-knicks-james-dolan-blundered-again

It's just...

I couldn't imagine Dolan willing to pay luxury tax on the likes of Eddy Curry, Stephon Marbury, and already past his prime Penny and Steve Francis and yet he couldn't pay the luxury tax for Lin? Which, his business side alone, would probably pay for half of his contract already. What a dysfunctional ownership they have over there.

To be fair, the luxury tax was structured far more gently in the era of those contracts. What was once a dollar for dollar tax has now ballooned to an inflating tax for repeat offenders, which The Knicks would be. So, what would have been a 1-to-1 tax on Lin's contract in the old CBA now becomes a $4.25-to-1 tax in the new CBA (I believe). That is an enormous difference in that third year spike.

(tangentially-does it strike anyone else as odd that for a matching team on a RFA the cap hit is the true number but for the offering team it is averaged? Seems to give the offering team an advantage---and is this only for teams over/under the cap respectively?).


And The Knicks have been moving down in payroll for the last few years, having respectively the 17th and 16th highest payrolls for the last two if I am correct.

[TripleOT]

The writer, Jay Caspian Kang, is talented.  Check out what he had to say  about Seattle trying to get a team again.

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/8071257/chris-hansen-gary-payton-shawn-kemp-new-supersonics-mean-old-sacramento-kings