Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey regrets letting go of New York Knicks point guard Jeremy Lin. If Golden State never cuts him, the truth is that Linsanity, as we know today, would not exist. This is just one of the many things that had to happen for Linsanity. See series of events below.
December 9, 2011: Golden State Warriors waive Jeremy Lin
On the same day, the Golden State Warriors signed 2011 second round pick and point guard Charles Jenkins. The Warriors were also clearing salary cap space in order to make an offer to restricted free agent DeAndre Jordan. On December 11, the Houston Rockets claimed Jeremy Lin off waivers
Linsanity Impact: Jeremy Lin was now a member of the Houston Rockets.
December 9, 2011: NBA Commissioner David Stern nixes Chris Paul trade to Lakers
NBA Commissioner David Stern, having a final say on all basketball decisions of the New Orleans Hornets, vetoed the trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Rockets, and Kevin Martin, Lamar Odom, Luis Scola and Goran Dragic to the Hornets. The NBA currently owns the New Orleans Hornets.
Linsanity Impact: Houston backup point guard Goran Dragic was the player involved in this trade that would have impacted Jeremy Lin. If Goran Dragic were traded, Houston would have needed a point guard. Jeremy Lin might be the backup point guard for the Houston Rockets today. He would be backing up the entrenched starter Kyle Lowry who is having a career year.
Additionally, if the Rockets weren’t part of the Chris Paul trade talks, who knows if they would have even put a claim for Jeremy Lin. Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge had said he put a claim for Lin. He might have been a Celtic on December 11.
December 19, 2011: New York Knicks sign Baron Davis
The New York Knicks signed Baron Davis knowing that he had a recuperation period of 8 to 10 weeks from a back injury.
Linsanity Impact: If the Knicks did not sign Baron Davis, they most likely would have signed a different and healthy point guard. The Knicks wouldn’t have claimed Jeremy Lin a week later.
December 24, 2011: Houston Rockets waive Jeremy Lin
After claiming Jeremy Lin off waivers on December 12, 2011, the Houston Rockets waived Lin to clear cap space to be able to sign free agent center Samuel Dalembert.
December 25, 2011: Iman Shumpert sprains MCL
After an impressive debut on opening day, Knicks rookie guard Iman Shumpert sprained his MCL against the Boston Celtics. With Mike Bibby still working himself back into game shape, the Knicks needed another point guard.
Linsanity Impact: If Iman Shumpert did not get hurt, the Knicks would have not needed to pick up Jeremy Lin. The roster would have had Iman Shumpert, Mike Bibby, Toney Douglas and Baron Davis. It’s obvious now that this offense needs a true point guard. However, they might not have picked him up back then, as the timing would have been different. Instead, he might have been a Celtic.
Boston Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge said that they a put another claim for Jeremy Lin. Had he become a Celtic, he would have been fighting for back-up minutes with Avery Bradley, E’Twaun Moore and Keyon Dooling.
Interestingly, Celtics starting point guard Rondo actually ended up missing 8 games due to injury beginning January 20. Additionally, veteran guard Keyon Dooling was injured around the same time period. Could Linsanity have happened in Boston? Sure, Lin had Avery Bradley, E’Twaun Moore and Marquis Daniels as competition but none of them are true point guards. Looking back at coach Doc Rivers’ comments, his preference was a pure point guard so Lin would have had an 8-game stretch to get some meaningful minutes. However, even if Lin played well, he would have eventually ended up as the backup of a healthy Rondo who is a star point guard in this league. A lesser degree of Linsanity could have happened in Boston.
January 11, 2012 to February 3, 2012: Knicks lose 11 out of last 13 games
On February 4, 2012, with the Knicks in a funk and playing the 3rd game in 3 nights, Knicks coach D’Antoni gave Lin significant minutes hoping for a spark.
Linsanity Impact: If the Knicks weren’t losing as much, D’Antoni might not have taken a chance with Lin. To go from losing the last 11 out of 13 games and winning 7 in a row took Linsanity to a different level.
February 6, 2012: Carmelo strains groin and is out for 2 weeks; Amar’e misses 4 games to be with his family
With Amar’e already out, Carmelo left 5 minutes into the game with a strained groin.
Linsanity Impact: With the Knicks two best offensive weapons out, Jeremy Lin was now the center of the offense. The extended amount of time that Melo and Amar’e were out cannot be emphasized enough. This short period of time and the 7-game winning streak allowed the Knicks to become Jeremy Lin’s team.
The correct opportunity and circumstance had to happen for Linsanity to become such a huge story. Had things worked out differently, Jeremy Lin might have gotten the opportunity but as a back-up point guard of the Houston Rockets or Boston Celtics. If he had monster games with the Celtics while Rondo was out, Linsanity might have occurred but wouldn’t have been as crazy as the Celtics situation was not as dire as the Knicks. Had Carmelo not gotten injured, Jeremy Lin would not have gotten a chance to be the focal point of an offense tailor made for his skill set. Linsanity would have been totally different.
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