JEREMY LIN: Why the Knicks should have kept him.wmv
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- čas přidán 7. 08. 2012
- Stephen A. Smith is taken to task by ESPN Analysts Max Kellerman, Marcellus Wiley & Skip Bayless for endorsing Knicks owner James Dolan's decision to let Jeremy Lin walk.
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![[HD] 02.10 Knicks vs. Lakers Jeremy Lin Post Game Interview](/img/n.gif)
Two different First Take worlds collide as Max and Skip are across from one another. Kind of crazy to watch this today.
and of course what did Skip do. never wanting toshy away from the moment, he immediately challenged Max to a fight....lol
Absolutely
And the episode where Shannon was on First Take with Skip and Shannon.
@@IWantToMature85where can I find this
When max was a rookie 😂
He still a rookie lmao
Never thought I’d see the day skip bay less and Stephen a smith would be together.
@@maxdyer6727 they were together for years!
He learned from the bests
@Truth Teller what is name of this show?
Never knew Max Kellerman was on first take before he became a full timer.
Seeing this in 2019 is crazy lmaooo
Jeremy lin is such a wonderful player. I hope he wins a championship one day
@@KDD8 He just did... as a bench player though.
@@bx3054 It's a joke BX
B X are you?
I know. Damn Max is there before he became Max
It's funny that not a lot of people follow Lin's career as a player. He led his middle school to a state championship. He led his high school to a state championship. He lead Harvard beating out teams like BC and Connecticut. Physically, he may not be gifted, but mentally he is a leader. He can lead a team. He doesn't need superstars, all he needs is players who can complement him to win. Young, unproven, no superstars the rox may be, but lin just got himself in the best position possible.
…..Ehmmm…..
This didn’t age well at all
@@cmox1830he's an NBA champion 😳
he made the whole team better, like players like Novak, Jeffrey, Laundry were all playing great and contributing because of Lin
17 points and 9 assists and this dude is calling him an "average point guard" that season? are you kidding me?
lmao skip wanted to catch a fade with Max in the beginning
He knew he was trying to take his job.
If NY would have resign Jeremy Lin I believe Lin would have became a all star player they should have released or traded Melo in 2012
Melo to Wolves in 2012 would prefect Love + Melo lit
They would've needed D'ANTONI honestly. D'ANTONI system was a tailor made system for Lin to run it.
Melo is a cancer to the knicks and D'Antoni. they are by far performs so much better without melo vs with melo.
The guy wants Iso all the time but he cant produce results. Maybe the knicks shouldve realized that Melo needs to tone it down and become a role player.
Lmaaaao what??
@@CustomFitted right😂😂😂
once melo came back the team sucked..
4 years later bombed in okc and Houston
agree
Its trying to fine a team now and lin will sign with Toronto
I wish I could triple thumbs up on that because wherever Melo goes, he brings the team down because he only thinks for himself. Selfish player does not win and he proves it.
@@phillip6919851 yea you are dumb
stephen a smith aint saying nothing about lin now but apologizing to lin because of the state new york is in today LOL.
David Yang wtf is Jeremy Lin doing? 😂😂😂😂🤦🏽♂️ he ain’t do shit after he got traded I think he got worse
IG: confused_melo to see proof he is garbage #Ginga didn’t even play in the finals for 5 minutes idc if he won
IG: confused_melo to see proof he is garbage #Ginga why do you keep bringing up Melo? I’ve never even brought his name up.. don’t involve your sad personal problems with me Lin is trash
Inster plus you’re not following basketball too well... if you go from a upcoming superstar to role player idgaf what some dumb ass on CZcams says he fell off, but aye he won a championship so now he knows how James Jones feels getting carried to a championship 🤷🏽♂️
Inster scratch that he reminds me of a dahntay Jones because at least he got some minutes in
This was peak Kellerman
Stephen A was flat out wrong here
He usually is, he's all noise.
@@danny2rawcomedy he won a championship last year 😐
Agreed. This nigga has no respect for any opinion than his own. Tries to take control of every damn discussion like the wannabe alpha he is. This was what made me really hate him more than Skip Bayless and this is what gave me a little hope for Skip Bayless he actually believed in Lin the whole way.
Not really
@@rebeccajohnson4156 Stephen A. won a championship? In what? Breaking the loudness record? 😂
I don't think Harden likes playing with Lin because they bang heads with who controls the ball. They both think differently. I think this will ultimately be the downfall of the Rockets. The Knicks however played so well with JLin, the chemistry was almost hard to believe until you saw it. It's almost like people were hoping Melo would stay injured, lol.
i give Lin a lot of credit on that regard.. he really adjusted a lot of his game in accordance to Harden's. ... e.g. for some reason Harden has this very bad habit of throwing last second passes to nearby teammates, and those rushed shots normally ended up bricking... but for this season, Lin managed to score on many of those passes, and you can tell his effort made in the off-season on shooting.
🤣
8 years ago, and even to this day...Harden can't play well with anyone, and it's showing, and now that is physical capabilities are going down instead of up, this will show even more so. Some people just want to BE THE GUY and not allow anyone there, which is sad.
Melo couldn't handle Lin's success. Too bad. Might have been an interesting combo...and Lin doesn't have CA's self destructive ego.
Stephen A. just wasn't willing to give Lin enough credit even when Linsanity was the main reason that the Knicks "survived" that roller-coaster season and managed to make it to the playoff.. He often shot far-fetched critics at Lin as if Lin were a veteran or something (like he "can't go to the left")...i mean come on, that was literally Lin's first year playing... just ignore the 2 seasons he spent looking after the towels and the gatorade cups.
Shit why tf i found you here Xiao, i thought you only live in DBFZ training room lmao
@@lifeofapotato4595 Oh I wasn't playing any fighting game 6 years ago :D
SAS racist, race-baiting pontificator. Panders to his ilk.
Oh shit skip and max in the same room
I am OK with the Knicks didn't match Lin contract.
But they should at least offer Lin a contract (about 5-6M per year) first.
Instead, they chased Nash and told Lin to test the market.
They had no respect to him in signing process.
thats why that franchise staying ringless lol
Can't believe Stephen A. Smith thinks Raymond Felton is better than Jeremy Lin...
I can't believe anyone thinks Raymond Felton is good.
Look Jarrett Jack career for example
He was aligning himself with the players who hated on lin behind the scenes...
This is a big time panel
Here's my problem with SAS: he doesn't like Jeremy Lin NOT because he's Asain; he doesn't like him because he's an outsider. Lin didn't take the same route of NBA players. He often represents the unspoken voice of many players in this league - which is why he hardly calls out the big names if they underperform (but he will call lesser known guys scrubs and bums). And many of those players have secretly and publicly voiced their displeasure about his popularity and coverage. He also allows the LINSANITY hype to cloud his judgement. A year and a half later does he feel the same way about Felton and whether or not the Knicks should've chosen him over Lin? He'll probably say yes, but if he's honest he'd acknowledge the Knicks should've kept him AND brought in Felton as an insurance policy.
in the end stephen a did say that the knicks sd have kept lin but too little too late - lin was on the same summer league as john wall -both put up roughly the same speed and stats but funnily enough john wall got a contract while lin only got a short term one with golden state. Now i wonder why that was? 2 guys with the same talent and only 1 gets all the praise and a guaranteed contract? and stephen a spent so much time dissing lin on all his faults as well -
Zaviay Taylor that’s fucking stupid. You put way to much. Thought into something that makes absolutely no sense
Basketball is about thinking 1st & then Athletic ability, that is what J. LIN. is all about . He was hated on for his basketball I.Q..a damn shame for heads that’s say they love the game.
Here in 2021. NY should have kept Lin. Despite the knee injury & because he was still a rookie, the gigantic growing hype & fandom of Linsanity, not to mention the bball skills of Jeremy ... all that would have easily compensated for the luxury taxes with incoming profits because of the hype. Jeremy wanted to stay. He even called his agent to contact Houston to see if Houston could lower their offer so that NY could try to make an offer, but his agent wouldn't have none of it. I'm sure his agent gets (or got) a percentage of that Houston offer. However, once Lin left NY, somewhat amicably, he Tweeted his goodbyes. However, a lot of New Yorkers got angry at him for leaving, posting racist & discriminatory comments. What these people did not know at the time was that he left because NY did not give him an offer in the first place. What are you going to do? Basically only Houston gave him an offer, a huge offer that he could not refuse & an offer that no other NBA team could match. Oh well. Now Lin is back where he started from, the Warriors, although right now only in G-League minors. Perhaps he has come full circle. I hope he makes it back to the majors playing alongside his old pal Steph Curry from the 2010 Warriors days & creating a new dynasty with him.
Knicks downfall started by letting Jeremy Lin go.
Agreed
Started when D'Antoni was forced out.
Stop it
Started 20 years ago lmao they never reach a high enough point for a downfall
Went 54-28 the next year
I’d give a years salary to see all 4 of these guys to be the main cast of First Take now
Man, this is like an All-Star game
This aged well. My boy Lin is a champion on my Raptors
He says he didn't really earn that championship, because he was a bench player, saw so few minutes, it would have made no difference if he weren't on the roster - they'd win without him.
Garbage take. He barley even played for Toronto. Stephen A was always right about Lin
Molly is fine and all but I kinda prefer this set up for First Take
+ChrisC11 yeah man..this is great debate..Molly just acts like a mediator and breaks up debates..this is no holds barred lol..great debate
First Take was at its best when Jay was the moderator. He actually had funny lines occasionally.
this comment did NOT age well
@@manlikezach Lmao 😂
@@manlikezach haha no one likes Molly
If First Take had all four of these guys oh man it'd be a riot!! Hahahaa
Believe it or not, #1 Lin hater Stephen A. Smith is now saying the Knicks should have kept Jeremy Lin because of the way Felton is playing. Amazing...lol.
King The Great. Salavan ikr! SAS is racist against Hispanics and Asians
Honestly I saw the clip, and it feels like with how he was carrying on and the tone of voice, he's joking about wanting him back
Lol max, Stephen a, and skip together
Jeremy Lin bumps up ticket prices and sales by 2 folds, that alone makes him worth keeping. He brings more money than he takes.
Jeez what is this a crossover movie or something? 🤷♂️😂😂
- 2021
Watching SAS and Max’s 1st time together, as Max is leaving First Take. Really sad day
Im a knicks fan, but we will forever be cursed for not Keeping LIN... smh.. Steven A is wrong on this.. The biggest prob I had is bring in J. Kidd and Felton...They did well for that one yr, but I saw all that coming.. Not the mention that Lin will continue to come to the Garden and kick our asses each time for the rest of his career. See he did it two yrs in a row where he outplayed ALL our Guards.
Fast forward to now and the Knicks still cursed lol
If lin would've resigned with the knicks this team would've been so much better. Now they suck. Dantoni would've kept his job probably and never has Woodson coaching. Lin would thrive off Dantoni just like he coached Nash. Lin Amari Chandler and Melo wow. Imagine they played in 14-15 season. Definitely play the heat in the semi finals.
In that scenario, they absolutely would've had to trade Melo man. It wasn't going to work with him around... that's why he pushed for all the other key ingredients you've mentioned to be gone, 1) the coach and his system 2) Lin. Did you notice the difference when Woodson changed the offense...it became more like the Knicks style with Ewing...Feed Melo all game, and sometimes create other opportunities when the feed Melo system wasn't working.
Wow crazy to see Max and Skip at the same table. We need Shannon here
damn this panel is lit
Stephen A. Smith talking about Felton like he was gonna be the best piece for the NYK. And now what?
skip: what knowledge did i drop on you! LOL HAHA
He played the with Raptors, they won the NBA Finals 👍. That's Linsane!!
Wow Max Kellerman and skip Bayless at the same debate desk. This video is priceless. Money in the bank
"..window opportunity with Melo".. and then 4 years have passed since then.
"Did you see that kid, couldn't drive left, couldn't defend you, you, or you, and he's sitting up there talking about 85% bla bla bla" He drives to his left more than his right now, defended Wade in the playoff, defensive specialist coach Clifford says that his D is underrated, and he's been balling out, helping his team win.. oh, how things have changed..
Dude wasn't even "chasing money", Rockets were the only organization that offered him anything at all, what's he supposed to do? Beg the Knicks to keep him?
Aaron Koh Stephen knows nothing!
I miss the days of Linsanity and Tebowmania
Stephen A knucklhead....Felton suspended 4 games for gun charges 9/7/2014
Lol this is soo back and fourth. This video came out 2 years ago. Everyone last year was siding with Stephen A. Smith because of the season the Knicks had last season. This season when they suck, everyone is saying Stephen A doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm on neither side, but I just find this funny.
Hate Lin all you want but guess what, he's better than that overweight Felton guy.
Now, if Lin is "overrated", then Felton sorry ass must be way overrated. HAHAHA
Replace Marcellus Wiley with Shannon and we will have the biggest merger since ABA/NBA
Lol that's funny
He’s been on first take a bunch, all fs1 employees came thru these shows lol
Jamirimaj 😂😂😂
Lin is an awesome Asian American Derrick Rose. He has great court vision and an incredible drive to the basket. His overall game is great, but coaches need to start him for goodness sake! He should absolutely not be a bench player, its ridiculous! I predict he will improve his consistence, eventually becoming an elite NBA guard but later in his career he's gonna succumb to injuries like D. Rose. I really hope that doesn't happen but a player with that much drive and movement on the court is injury prone IMO. What do you guys think?
woah, saying hes close to d rose is going overboard.
Well, I think he has the potential to be that great. As of right now he's not on that level but I believe he could potentially get there given his immense heart and drive to get better. He really needs to work on his defense though.
If anything he's the next Steve Nash, because he has nowhere near Rose's pure athleticism (Lin is not getting chasedown blocks, jumping out out the building, or throwing down cockbacks like Rose) I think his game resembles Nash in Nash's infancy stage, and if Lin continues to improve he can reach Nash's insane fundamental skills (don't forget Nash had 2 consecutive league MVPs)
Nash is a far better shooter, passer and dribbler than Lin ever was.
The only thing you got right is that Lin would succumb to his injuries 😂😂😂😂
Skip vs max in a boxing ring? I’d pay so much money to see that shit in 2020 lol..
Stephen A apologized after watching Raymond Felton played! And the Knicks continued to lose until now (even losing the lottery of Zion Williamson). Meanwhile Jeremy got his ring with the Raptors and Melo has no ring and no team!
seeing this in 2020 is crazy 😭😭😭
When Deron Williams was actually nice lol
Sadly, ever since he got traded from Jazz, he just disappeared.
The only reason why I feel not bringing back Lin wasn't as much a mistake as many think is that it didn't seem that Carmelo and Lin could co-exist. It really came down to choosing between Lin and Melo. I agree with everything you said though.
Max skip Stephen a on the same show that’s wild
look at the knicks now
Lmao yeah look at the knicks now
Stilll trash 6 years later
@@1ZosoLZ look at the knicks now
That’s crazy they all have their own show now
Since than The Knicks haven't got a point guard like Jeremy Lin. I don't think people remember what happened. The Knicks were not even in the playoffs until Lin came in and we started winning. Not to mention Melo wasn't even playing because he was injured. If you ask me I think Lin left because Melo told them not to sign him. Knicks had D.Rose last year but he didn't do it like Lin did it nor did they make the playoffs
Who would have guessed that Max would later on replace Skip on that same sports show.
I think Lin would of progressed better in NY... not everyone has that Magic he has in the Garden. To his credit SAS admitted he was wrong about Mr Lin. Can't believe we chose Felton over Lin... I have enjoyed watching the Knicks Since Lin left ... Until Porzingis came home... I was SAS jr when we drafted Porzingis lol...
Imagine how well Lin would have played with Barnani.
Right now Barnani is prob the best and most consistent knick on the court.
All the knicks needed was Barnani, Chandler, and Lin and traded JR and Carmelo for solid shooters.
This definitely didn't age well.
The 4 kingpins 😂😂😂😂
"Preach it Marcellus, preach! He just dropped some knowledge on you, Mr. NBA!" You got to love Skip Bayless.
How crazy how skip and marcellus went to fox and sas axed max now..sas seems like he always was a hater 😂
Rox can take out any team any given night! Knicks Tyson Chandler, Amare need Lin PG like DHoward, Terrence Jones, Parson need Lin.
No coincidence Rox streaking 7 wins, Lin & DHoward are playing particularly well.
Stephen A said this ain't the Max and Marcellus show lol but now its the Max K and Stephen A show
....and the Knicks NEVER recovered.
Must’ve not watch last season
@@stanleysanchez162 you call losing in embarrassing fashion in 5 games “recovering” ?
What was that?
SKIP SAID HE WANTED TO FIGHT HIN THEN MAX TOOK HIS JOB💀💀
That’s why he wanted to fight him. He was making moves on skip like he did on Larry.
Hey Stephen A, Jeremy now has a ring!
And hes a free agent lol
Melo still gettin bread. Wheres your bum ass lin? Oh wait...hes not even in the league🤣
@@Cattildo where's melos ring? Oh wait it'll never happen. Lol go cry
Asian Adam Morrison
I just love how Stephen A. Smith and Skip's lifes get so rattled up over any NBA move, or player, like every time..love it
The entire's Miami Heat team focused on stopping him. Two plays with Mario and Noris cole stealing the ball wasn't the only defensive possessions that Lin struggled with. The Heat were trapping him hard on each possession, which was a team effort.
Lets be real. When Lin was with New York he was slightly overrated. Then when he was with the Rockets he actually proved himself to be a pretty good player. His story is amazing and Im happy for him! And I still think he shouldve started over Patrick Beverly cause Beverly is shitty compared to Lin lol
Kinicks now at 3-13. I wonder what SAS is preaching now? lol...
They should have made Lin their Franchise player he just pushes the momentum for the entire team and the team loves n trusts him unlike ball hog no ring melo xd
Who would think 8 years later Wiley would have the best show out of all of them 😭
My god max kellerman just made stephen A look amateur-ish. Max is an einstein in sports management. He brings a team managers perspective on things and the x's and o's. the economics of things. Then you have stephen a smith who i dont thibk highly of. Stephen A. Can talk you about how good a player is, how good a team is, but max and skip are more in depth and numbers based. More methodical, whereas stephen is more on the hype.
SAS entertaining bruh
Knicks gonna sign KD and Kyrie, 10 years from now when they about to retire.
😂😂😂😂😂
Xerolimitation 🤣🤣😂
😂😂😂😂
Wow this was a cool segment imagine getting these guys together now in 2024
The Knicks should call J Lin apologize and sign him for the rebuild... the Fans would get behind this.
Why would apologize to an average NBA player?
No doubt Lin is a decent NBA player. He has the skills and talent to give any team 14-16 points a night along with 4-6 assist. But Jeremy Lin has too many flaws in his game. He struggles against more athletic powerful PG and a liability defensively. Jeremy Lin isn't an all star caliber player, he's a role player mostly. If Lin is placed on a team that can utilize his skills and mask his weaknesses, he can be a serviceable starting PG. But again, the NBA has so many elite PG that he will have to defend every night. Imo, he is at his best playing the backup Pg and giving the bench an offensive spark.
+Moneygetjealous Lol
+Ferronous He's right. just look at his last three games averaging 23 pts a game and was clutch against he spurs and nets
Moneygetjealous You called it! That’s what Charlotte did in 2016, but Jeremy Lin wants to start.
Only the Knicks ALLOWED LIN to run a team and quarterback the whole game, and what happened?
He made a mediocre team played like everyone was an MVP, team ball even Chandler and Jeffries were offensive threats. Every other team he was not given the opportunity to LEAD A TEAM. LIN'S genius is his high IQ ON THE FLOOR, deciphering and calculating ways to beat you while making everyone around him play better. He was smart enough to make adjustments and even without real playing time experience he proved he could win. Carmelo and most Blacks hated him, were jealous he got all that attention and discriminated him except his teammates and Knicks fans. Shame on you.
Agreed, although I didn't say Lin was responsible for the scoring. I just said he pushes the tempo of the Rockets offense which leads to easy buckets most of the time even if the assist doesn't count for him. He's still a very inconsistent shooter but when he does get hot, most of the time the Rockets win since Harden won't have to shoulder the scoring load. He's a solid starter considering they're actually in playoff contention (I know you're gonna say Harden again to which I again agree to).
Since there are only 2-4 serious title contender every year on NBA, and Knicks definitely not one of em, they should really shift their focus from "winning everything" to "entertain and make money". Hence, they shouldve keep Lin
and yesterday Jeremey beat Melo with his own team the Brooklyn Nets....the come back kid
not only should have they kept him they should also have kept landry, jeffries and novak.. those guys just had such good karma together GOOD KARMA = TEAM CHEMISTRY = CHAMPIONSHIP.. the knicks lack soooo much drive and chemistry right now.
this is what i was going to say. many teams think they can get just big profiled dudes but what matters most is team chemistry and i personally (many times mentioned this repeatedly) believe that lin and fields had perfect chemistry with each other. look at brooklyn nets and ny knicks. look at indiana - all those non top 10-20 draft picks. whos winning? it's all chemistry
Justin Park i agree with you a 110%. perfect example of what we're talking about can be seen in the blazers. look at what they're doing in the west right now
and then melo complain about the team having no fighting spirit... its hard to build the team chemistry. if lin and novak were still there, they should be on the top 5 in the league by now. maybe that's an overstatement but we never knew.
yuuuuuuup!!! thats when they started sucking.
i think the knicks have the worst management in all of NBA
All these guys are some of the top paid media stars now, salute!!!!!!!
Dam if these four were still on espn first take, I would watch it everyday.
why does dolan do this shit to knicks fans?
why does he pursue a point gaurd who never worked out the first time over a guy who was getting it done?
why does he let up and coming chris copeland go?
why does he trade a great 3 point shooter (who came in handy last year) for the worst #1 draft pick so far (sidenote, anyone slse notice the knicks are winning with bargnani out?)
why sign a guy who A doesn't want to play here and B you will never play?
why have rookie talent (mury, tyler, hardaway) and give 2 of those guys barely any minutes?
regardless, GO KNICKS!
Because it would be stupid to give Lin 25mil dude hes worth 15 3yrs.
thats true. but still he didnt have to let copeland leave, trade Novak, reaquire felton and sign beno udrih
He doesn't have a choice, Felton was effective last year as a bakup to Kidd. Novak to Bargs is a good deal look at Novak now he cant even hit 3's anymore atleast they're getting something on bargs. Now I don't know why the hell they gave up a promising rookie.
mistake#1 trade for melo when he cannot play with amare
#2 don't resign jeremy lin
#3 get bargnani
....so far the only good decision they made is tyson chandler....
"Mama's cooking "
Woodson probably had Felton come back. Lin didn’t have people in the org vouching for him because Linsanity was not part of their plan and as always, knicks plans never workout but they persisted they knew best.
when this segment was taking place did any of you think max kellerman was gonna be on first take daily at this time? i sure didn't. i thought Skip was gonna be on the show for longer than he was
The funny thing is the Steven A was right all along. Lin got exposed when he went to Houston and LA
What's with the love fest for Jeremy Lin like he's a star. dude is a role player at best.
He's Asian. Asian players always get more hype because they're rare in the NBA. Lin can play, but he's overrated. People try to act like he could be a star in this league when he's at best an above average backup.
Finally someone with some sense
yeah he is asian - american you mean - born in torrance which is still part of the usa. if he is so ' over rated" then why is he still playing? he has every right to be there and play basketball - he has been at a very high standard from his high school onwards till college etc
norah smith we're not saying he doesn't have the right to play in the NBA. We're saying he sometimes gets treated like a star when he's actually just an average player in this league.
No one said he couldn't play. I specifically said he could, but what if Raymond Felton did what Lin did? It'd be no big deal and he definitely wouldn't be on the cover of SI.
Jeremy Lin would have been the face of New York because people came to see him play. The house was packed every night with enthusiasm and renewed energy. They cringed every time Melo got the ball because all he does is ISO and kills any team chemistry. It's usually obligated that the most highest paid person should be the face of the organization, but Lin is the people's champ.
I was at Max Kellerman's bris. The mohel threw the severed foreskin at my head for refusing to yell mavel tov.
True. I love Lin, but Felton is doing a great job running the point and looks a lot better than he did in Portland. I've been watching Lin in the Rockets, and even though his play isn't as good as it was in NY, it's a lot more exciting to see him run with the other youngun's in a team that has a lot of possibilities. The Knicks are in a "win now" mode which doesn't mesh as well as Lin's position as a young, developing player. I honestly think it was a good trade for everyone involved.
Young Max 🤩
COMMENTATORS ARE RIGHT!!! KNICKS SCREWED UP !!! KNICKS NO MAJOR WIN SINCE LIN??? WHY. . .
With all of the awful Knicks contracts over the years and in the time period they couldn't pay Lin less to stay in NY? Oy!
now all we need is to swap out Marcellus for Shannon and we got a dream team
where it all started
If you remember last year before Amar'e was hurt, he was by far the leading candidate for mvp and Melo can't play much defense but he can score as well as anyone and he's got the clutch gene. Superstars or not, they're the best players on that team by far.
Lin was a baller. They messed up by letting him go. Mello had something to do with it.