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Did Morey Rig the Lin "Renegotiation" and Punk the Knicks

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Rileydog, Jul 15, 2012.

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  1. Rileydog

    Rileydog Contributing Member

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    -- Mods, please merge this into the Lin thread if it should be in there, but this is not so much about Lin, as much it is a question as to whether Morey delibertately screwed the Knicks --

    Hypothetical - Did Morey deliberately reach a lower agreement w Lin, bait the Knicks into other moves to eat cap, and then lower the Boom by jacking up the Lin deal, thus making it harder to match?

    Timeline
    Pre July 5 - many reports that Rockets are in negotiations w/ Lin. Terms reported to be as high as $40MM over $4 years, or equivalent to what we offered Dragic.

    July 5: Reports come out that Rockets have agreed to terms w Lin for a $5MM/$5MM/$9MM contract. Clutchfans roars in approval at the pricetag, and then immediatly facepalms with the realization that the Knicks will definitely match.

    Same day, Knicks reach agreement w Jason Kidd. Statements immediately follow indicating that Kidd is going there to mentor Lin, and Knicks intend to have both of them. Joy in Gotham City.

    July 9: Knicks SnT for Marcus Camby, 3yrs, $10MM. In doing so, Knicks send the Rockets Tony Douglas (and pay his salary), since they don't need his ass to backup Lin. Hours later, Knicks sign Steve Novak to 4yr/15MM.

    July 11: Knicks sign JR Smith for $2.8MM/1yr.

    Then Boom comes the dynomite - Rockets sign Lin to the mega poison pill contract with nearly $15MM guaranteed in year 3.

    Analysis
    First, the timing is curious.
    - After the initial reports of Lin's term sheet being a modest $5MM/$5MM/$9MM structure, the Knicks spend money and land Kidd, SnT for Camby, trade Douglas, sign Novak and JR Smith. I mean, why not -- the Lin contract is just so cheap and reasonable.
    - On July 9, when Morey agreed to SnT Camby to the Knicks, I'm guessing the Knicks felt Morey did them a favor by negotiating such a reasonable contract with Lin. Morey seemingly handed Lin to the Knicks on a silver platter, with a 20% off coupon. Why not give our friend David Motet $2MM, our backup PG, a couple of 7 footers and 2 second round picks. I mean, it's the least they could do.

    Second, when is the last time that a team reaches an agreement with a RFA, and then offers a significantly richer deal? None comes to mind. Can anyone remember such an instance? Particularly with a high profile player. Ever?

    Third, didn't the initial report of Lin's $5MM/$5MM/$9MM offer sheet make us all scratch our heads? I know my initial reaction was -- what's the point? There's not nearly enough poison on this pill to make NY care.

    So I ask the question -- Did Maori rig this whole Lin "renegotiation" to bait the Knicks into spending money and make it harder for them to match?

    (Underlying this question is whether the Knicks would find it easier to match if they had not done the Kidd, Camby, Novak and Smith deals).

    (of course, this is all moot if the Knicks match anyway, but I don't think they will).
     
    #1 Rileydog, Jul 15, 2012
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  2. mylilpony

    mylilpony Member

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    part of me thinks that when new york said they would match up to a billion dollars, morey restructured the terms and made them put their money where their mouth is. apparently their mouth is on the sauce in the hamptons.
     
    #2 mylilpony, Jul 15, 2012
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  3. alcatrazpsycho

    alcatrazpsycho Member

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    [​IMG]
    Notice the arena in the BG...
     
    #3 alcatrazpsycho, Jul 15, 2012
    2 people like this.
  4. kmav23

    kmav23 Rookie

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    knicks " we will match up to 1 billion dollars" !!!
     
    #4 kmav23, Jul 15, 2012
  5. JayZ750

    JayZ750 Contributing Member

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    I thought I read somewhere that Lin went to Vegas to renegotiate?

    It's just as feasible Lin though he was being underpaid, or Lins agent saw what was happening and pushed a restructure.
     
    #5 JayZ750, Jul 15, 2012
  6. clos4life

    clos4life Member

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    NY said they would match. Morey tested their resolve. We'll see if they mean what they say by Wednesday.
     
    #6 clos4life, Jul 15, 2012
  7. alcatrazpsycho

    alcatrazpsycho Member

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    In response to your question, I don't believe Morey could have anticipated the seemingly "perfect storm" that would develope, but I do believe he intended from the getgo to up the poison pill dosage during the official signing.
     
    #7 alcatrazpsycho, Jul 15, 2012
  8. Rileydog

    Rileydog Contributing Member

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    Why jack up the poison pill at the official signing instead of offering the big pill right off the bat? That's really the question I have in my mind.

    (I laugh wondering if Chicago is thinking that Morey's going to jack up the offer sheet to Asik too.)
     
    #8 Rileydog, Jul 15, 2012
  9. LScolaDominates

    LScolaDominates Member

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    I don't think Morey could have anticipated how stupid and impatient the Knicks would be. Perhaps his central philosophy as a GM is maximizing flexibility; upping Lin's offer was a creative response to a situation in which he had many options.
     
    #9 LScolaDominates, Jul 15, 2012
  10. crash5179

    crash5179 Contributing Member

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    I've thought something similar to that. Perhaps Daryl Morey considered all along that he might raise the stakes after he was able to gage New Yorks reaction to the original deal. A lot of reporters talk about Lin giving some sort of inside info to Morey but the Knicks front office came out and said that they were going to match and would match anything up to a billion dollars.

    Bait and trap.

    Daryl Morey did the right thing IMO. Either he gets Lin or he makes NYK a lot less relevant in the free agent and trade market for the foreseable future.
     
    #10 crash5179, Jul 15, 2012
  11. alcatrazpsycho

    alcatrazpsycho Member

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    A few posters put it quite adequately already: for the Knicks to pit their money where their mouth is.

    I'll be honest though that I was shocked that he's trying to OD the Knicks. I thought he might raise the final year by a buck, maybe buck-fifty (1e6).
     
    #11 alcatrazpsycho, Jul 15, 2012
  12. Aleron

    Aleron Contributing Member

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    because the was trying to place the poison pill in the season where the luxury tax would crucify them (ie new rules and highest payroll)

    Lin at $8m might be there or thereabouts, but there are only a few players in the nba where you'd eat 40m cost (inc luxury tax)
     
    #12 Aleron, Jul 15, 2012
  13. jaxwithanx

    jaxwithanx Member

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    The "realized he was being underpaid" argument is pretty weak considering it's not like any outrageous PG contracts were handed out after he agreed to the initial offer.

    We already know what the Rockets mindset was (make it hard on the Knicks)....it's more likely we decided to make it even harder. And yes, I wouldn't be surprised at all if baiting was the case.

    That's the Knicks fault for handing out the contracts they have. They can only be mad at themselves for making themselves vulnerable in this way.
     
    #13 jaxwithanx, Jul 15, 2012
  14. alcatrazpsycho

    alcatrazpsycho Member

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    Darn it... Put* not pit... my last "smart phone" post...
     
    #14 alcatrazpsycho, Jul 15, 2012
  15. ross84

    ross84 Contributing Member

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    What OP is saying is if the offer was initially large, then the Nicks would not have signed as many players in order to maintain cap room for Lin. Since NY saw such a small offer they believed they would have enough space to sign those players as well.
     
    #15 ross84, Jul 15, 2012
  16. luden

    luden Member

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    He didn't go to Vegas to negotiate. Lin went to the Rockets Vegas facility to sign the 5/5/9 offer that turned into the 5/5/14 offer. I don't know who did what but when Lin showed up in Vegas reports said that it was to sign the 5/5/9 offer.
     
    #16 luden, Jul 15, 2012
  17. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    This.

    Plus Maori is uber desperate to land a PG after letting 2 others go to open up cap space for the Dwight sweepstakes.

    The fact that Jeremy Lin is marketable (contingent on him being as he's as good as he was) made it easier for Morey/Les to sign off on the crazy raise.

    The "billion dollars remark" is fan comedy. Doubt it was a personal challenge for Morey to dump 40 and run up the score.
     
    #17 Invisible Fan, Jul 15, 2012
  18. ross84

    ross84 Contributing Member

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    Sorry :/
     
    #18 ross84, Jul 15, 2012
  19. TriCkz

    TriCkz Member

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    Cause they wouldnt have signed Kidd/ Camby and made other moves.
     
    #19 TriCkz, Jul 15, 2012
  20. Bandwagoner

    Bandwagoner Contributing Member

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    They couldn't offer it until they amnestied Scola. Lee, Asik, and all of those non-guaranteed contracts are still on the books.
     
    #20 Bandwagoner, Jul 15, 2012
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