Coaches have to start Lin, they can't start Tony Douglas even if TD plays better than Lin, exactly because of business reasons. I believe the sponsorship/advertising contracts Rocket signed with the East-West Bank and the Taiwan tire company specify that Lin needs to be starter unless he is injured. That's why you are seeing his "fake start" in recent games, i.e., start for a few minutes and then get pulled, his backup playing the crunch time, etc. The business impact of Lin is huge internationally. If Lin plays any resemblance of what he has done in New York (15-20 points/game), tons of new sponsors/advertising deals will come in from Asia, not just for Rockets, himself, but also his teammates too. I would be surprised if Lin is not voted to All-Star game this year regardless of his current performance.
Jeremy Lin is the most popular athlete in the world according to 2012 Google Trends, http://www.google.com/zeitgeist/2012/#the-world - a testament to Lin's worldwide reach.
that was pretty lame. there's no such "player must start term" advertising contract nor i've ever heard any teams in any sport had signed that kind of deal
What happened for Yao could still happen for Lin. The potential is there for him to further his popularity. The media has tried to break him down, find a flaw, and reduce his image. Even though he wants to keep his life private there is enough out there on him personally that has interest the fans and non-fans of basketball. He personifies integrity with his humbleness and christian background. He also seems to have a fun side seen in his videos. He's not just admired on the court, but his off court image is nearly impeccable in the eyes of many. Very similar to Yao these are the values that made him a hit in Asia. IMO he could have the perfect sports story, one that could be remembered possibly throughout the history of sports - an overlooked unknown and in many ways even unimaginable longshot. This story just hollers $$$ in my ears. That is if the Rocket's organization can help support this. Having a star is not always defined entirely in game stats. What metrics define a star can also be seen in his marketability. He's a hot topic and whether he wins or looses he remains popular. From a business standpoint that tells you the potential for marketing is big. As a business you look to make the most out of that. But it depends on an organization's ability to take advantage of this. Right now I do not understand what their strategy is. It seems as if the team itself is looking to reduce this interest by making Lin into a role player and not necessarily showing clear support in the eyes of the media - as seen calling out his mistakes consistently. This can easily be seen as being not supportive of Lin to the fans. It's as if the team itself does not believe Lin can be a star and would like to end the attention abruptly. That marketability is further reduced by giving him less playing time. As I mentioned if he doesn't play the fans stop paying attention. Once that star fades it's difficult to bring it back. Fans are quick to move on if a player fails to generate consistent news. For instance, outside of the diehard fans not many would tune in if Adam Morrison suddenly started avg 20ppg. That star has faded and the marketability for him with it. The Lin story could very well end in being a New York story but it can also very well turn into a Houston story. IMO you have a diamond of a story hidden behind a rock of an organization that isn't sure what to do with it.
That list represents the biggest jump from 2011 to 2012. He is not the most popular athlete in the world. For comparison here are the searches for kobe, lebron, jeremy Lin, yao. http://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=jeremy lin, kobe bryant, yao ming, lebron james&cmpt=q As you can see he is nowhere near kobe and lebron, but he close to yao who has been retired for a while.
I know that a lot of fans want to focus only on basketball and say that business is irrelevant, and to an extent that's true. It's not your money, so why should you care? And basketball reasons should always trump money reasons for a true aficionado of the sport. Some contrarian grouses may even take umbrage at the hype and publicity that the media creates around some stars, along with the attendant business that it brings. But the truth is that money does impact the sport, and fans should care about business (and the media star power/hype that builds that business) insofar as it affects the following: 1)Viability -- you don't want the team to lose so much money that the owners (or new owners if the old ones wants to sell) choose to move to a different city. Obviously this is a fringe case, and though it does happen, it's rare, and certainly not relevant here. 2)Luxury tax -- An owner that is making more money may be more willing to shell out, which in turn affects the roster. This is why big media market cities flush with cash from their business have traditionally been on the top end of roster salary and luxury tax. The Rockets aren't close to the luxury tax line at the moment, but they may be some day. 3)Media accessibility -- More popular players, whether you believe the hype is deserved or not, could mean more games selected for national broadcast on the networks like NBATV, ESPN, etc. It can even force local tv deals to get done. In NY, the Knicks and Time Warner Cable were locked in an impasse with neither side caving in. Then the popularity of Linsanity came, and Time Warner Cable subscribers complained about not being able to see any of it, the city was rioting, with tons of media coverage and local news reports focused on how the city that birthed Linsanity couldn't watch it on their tv screens. This finally forced Time Warner Cable to surrender and agree to MSG's terms, and a deal was reached. If Linsanity was repeated here in Houston with the entire city invested and roaring for it, with tons of local news reports investigating why there's no deal, and local news anchors airing pics Linsanity watching parties in bars around town that had satallite, with regular joes who don't usually follow the NBA calling their cable company and asking why they can't see Linsanity, the pressure would get the Comcast situation resolved in a jiffy. It's happened before in NY with Time Warner Cable and the MSG channel's contracts. 4) Free Agent attraction -- media focus, and media created hype, whether you believe it to be deserved or not, can help with free agent recruitment. When JR Smith came back into the country, he was pursued by several teams, but he finally settled on the Knicks over the Clippers, saying he was going to play with Linsanity. That was certainly not the determining factor in his decision (money was, probably), nor was it necessarily an important factor, but it did play a role. And when you're fighting for free agents, every little bit helps. So, much as basketball purists would like to ignore business revenues and media generated hype in favor of pure basketball, these elements can and will influence important things on the court and off it that should matter to fans. It's in the interest of every Rockets fan (whether you like Jeremy Lin or not) to see Linsanity grow in Houston if it can.
If Lin's business impact is that important, why the Warriors, the Rockets didn't even want to spend the minimum $$ on him? Even the Knicks didn't resign him after the Linsanity performance. Ultimately, it's about his performance on the court.
His business impact is tied to his performance on the court. Nowhere did I say that business reasons trump basketball reasons, just that the two are entwined.
Oh, my mistake, I thought you were responding to what I wrong. In that case, in answer to your question, I believe it's quite clear that the business value of Jeremy Lin post-Linsanity-breakout (which is what the OP is addressing) is quite different from the business value of Jeremy Lin pre-Linsanity-breakout (which is what obtains in your scenario of the Warriors and the Rockets cutting him the first time around). The NY situation is a conundrum since Dolan runs a tight ship and fires anyone for leaking to the press, and they've kept silence on the matter. Lots of speculations from Dolan's hurt feelings over perceived upstaging by Morey's revised offer, to lockerroom discord with Melo/JR, to Dolan/Felton's 4th of July BBQ, to basketball or cap reasons, etc. It's probably a mixture of basketball and business reasons, as are most decisions, along with the vagaries of Dolan's infamous temper and idiosyncrasies. No one will ever know for sure, since Dolan's organization won't explain the decision, and anyone who talks risks being fired (Dolan hates the press, gives no interviews, and have started witch-hunts over perceived leaks in the past).
On Facebook he was the #9 most discussed term on Facebook this year and only behind Tebow and the Mannings. Keep in mind this is U.S. only. You'd have to think he'd be near the top if it was worldwide. http://www.facebookstories.com/stories/3906/sports NY Giants New England Patriots Tim Tebow London 2012 Olympics OKC (Oklahoma City Thunder) Denver Broncos San Francisco 49ers Eli and Peyton Manning Jeremy Lin Los Angeles Clippers
This is dumb. In several early interviews, McHale mentions taking about how rookies go up and down, how their team is full of 'young guys'; fyi, Lin still hasn't played the same amount of minutes in TOTAL that Harden did just last season, playing with the OKC from the bench (look it up on basketball-reference.com if you don't believe me). McHale has also said that being a young player, that they're hurt more by hype than they are helped; they also gave Lin the corner locker, which is hard for media to access. Personally I think they're trying to protect Lin, instead of making him their cash cow via media, because they could have done so much more to make Lin a money-maker for them, and they didn't.
There are always tons of reasons behind every decision. It's not never just about performance (or any one particular reason). Why did the Rockets let Dragic and Lowry leave? Was it their performance on the court?
I'm bewildered by your argument. I'm saying the Rockets haven't really shown support of making Lin into one of the stars of the team. He's getting less playing time as of late than the other starters and the offense isn't looking to go to him as evident in Harden taking over the playmaking and furthermore where his backup in Douglas averages more shots per min than Lin. If that's protecting him than they are also preventing him from being anything further than a role player. I'd go as far as saying that's what they are establishing him in to. I'm questioning the logic in this from a business standpoint. Why would you pay Lin 25mil to do so. I realize coaches look to winning now but that's really short sighted from a strategic position where it's clear the team is in development and growth of its "young" team.
I sometimes want to turn off the TV. If Lin can not be the real playmaker and always camp in the corner I prefer the Rockets trade Lin to Lakers or anywhere then I will still follow Lin's game there. I hate the coaches bench Lin during fourth quarter.
