Point guard Jeremy Lin is expected to be re-signed by the New
York Knicks this summer since he is a restricted free agent and the Knicks have
the right to match any offer but Lin’s agent isn’t so sure his client will be
wearing a Knicks’ uniform next season.
A clause in the 2005 Collective Bargaining Agreement called
the Gilbert Arenas provision limits what teams can offer a restricted free
agent who has only been in the league one or two years.
Lin’s situation is different though because he was added to
the Knicks after being waived so it is not certain if his Early Bird rights
were transferred in the process.
The NBA Players Association and the league are arguing whether
or not a player’s Early Bird rights should transfer when they are waived. The
league says they should not which would force the Knicks to use their mid-level
exception to re-sign Lin.
The Players’ Union wants the rights to transfer which would
allow a team to exceed the salary cap in order to re-sign a player. That would
leave the Knicks free to use their mid-level to sign another player.
But if the league wins then teams that are under the cap can
offer Lin a back-loaded contract that the Knicks wouldn’t be able to match. Because
Lin is a second year player he can only make $5 million next season with a
slight increase in the second year of his contract.
A team under the cap can offer him a lot more money in the
third and fourth years of his contract though. The Knicks would be prohibited from matching
another team’s offer since they are already over the cap.
And that could make re-signing Lin a little more difficult
for the Knicks, especially if Lin sees a better situation with a team that can
offer him more money.
Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and an NBA Blogger for The Sport Mentalist 2. He is also a Sports Reporter for Pro Sports Lives. He can be contacted at RHall_TPFB@Yahoo.com and be sure to follow him on Twitter @sportmentalist.
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