In one day, the Knicks young future can be going in two different directions. One going north of the border to Toronto while the second might be going to Houston, Texas.
Landry Fields, the third year swingman from Stanford has signed an offer sheet with the Toronto Raptors. The offer sheet is for a three-year deal worth about 20 million. The Knicks can resign him after next Wednesday but monetarily the Knicks will be over the cap in the third year of that contract. Fields has been promised 5 million the first year and 5.2 the second year. The third year will be a balloon payment that the Knicks cannot afford with Anthony, Tyson and Stoudemire’s contracts. It doesn’t take a Stanford grad to know which way Fields is going to go.
Jeremy Lin, the journeyman point guard from Harvard that brought an excitement back to the Garden, will meet with the Rockets today in order to sign an offer sheet. Sources are saying that this offer sheet might be for a three or four year deal.
Due to the new collective bargaining agreement, no team can sign Lin for the average of 5.3 million in the first two years. Houston is looking at offering Lin a 40 million dollar deal. That would mean that in Lin’s third year, he could be owed close to 15 million dollars. Once again Knicks finances will be unable to pay that third year bill. It doesn’t take a Harvard business degree to see where this is going to end up financially.
All Knicks fans have grown accustomed to having the carpet pulled out from under them. Let’s recap a few. John Starks shooting miserably in the 1994 Finals, allowing the Houston Rockets to win the championship and how about watching Charles Smith attempting to make a bazillion lay-ups only to fail. All I can say is hang on to your wigs and keys because I see that carpet coming loose again.
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