As of July 6, last season’s NBA sensation Jeremy Lin has verbally agreed to sign a four year offer sheet with the Houston Rockets. The New York Knicks have until July 11th to make a counteroffer.
You can see the Houston Rockets home Schedule or the New York Knicks Schedule.
The purported deal is said to be approximately worth $28.8 million. Of that 28.8 million, 10.2 million would come in Lin’s first two seasons with the Rockets and over $9 million in each of the last two years of the deal.
Lin, a restricted free agent, can still be retained by the New York Knicks if they decide to match Houston’s offer. Likewise, the Knicks have been adamant that they intend to do everything they can to keep the star player.
A source within the league stated that the Rockets intended to offer Lin a back good deal worth roughly $30 million. Currently, it is estimated that the best deal the Knicks can offer Lin is a four-year contract worth $24.5 million.
Ironically, the Rockets had Lin in their training camp last season but waived him due to roster space. Now Houston is doing everything within their powers to get him back.
Lin, who was undrafted out of Harvard, averaged 14.6 points, 6.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 35 games with 25 starts last season for the Knicks.
The Houston Rockets already are extremely popular in Asia due to the playing career of their former star Yao Ming, who retired in 2011. Jeremy Lin could undoubtedly add to their appeal in the region as the first American-born player of Chinese or Taiwanese descent.