Jeremy Lin opens up about his exit from New York a day after Knicks fail to match offer sheet point guard signs with Houston.  Jeremy Lin’s stunning departure has some Knicks fans blaming James Dolan and others swearing to switch allegiances to the Brooklyn Nets. But if you think Lin’s exit was handled poorly, his arrival in Houston was just as awkward. On the eve of his introductory press conference with the Rockets, Lin told SI.com that he “preferred New York” and loves the New York fans “to death,” despite signing a three-year, $25 million offer sheet with the Western Conference club last Friday. A few hours after Lin made it known that his top choice was to re-sign with the Knicks, he released a statement pledging his loyalty to his new employer. “Now I am excited to be back with the Rockets,” said Lin, who was cut by Houston last December before joining the Knicks. “They made a very compelling pitch in terms of what I could bring to the team and for the city.” What made Houston’s pitch all the more compelling was a balloon payment of $14.9 million in the third year of the deal. It was that new wrinkle in the contract that infuriated Dolan, the chairman of Madison Square Garden. The move accelerated the end of Lin’s run in New York after 35 games and 25 starts. The day after the payment was added to Lin’s pact, the Knicks sent shock waves through the NBA by acquiring point guard Raymond Felton from Portland, a move that meant they would not match the Rockets’ offer. Three days later, Knicks GM Glen Grunwald called Lin at his parents’ house in Palo Alto, Calif., to inform him of the club’s decision. “We wanted to keep you but it couldn’t work out,” Lin recalled Grunwald saying during an interview with SI.com. “Tell your family I say hello, and good luck the rest of the way.” Lin told the website that before Grunwald called he had not spoken to any Knicks officials in over a week and had a feeling that his days were numbered once he learned about the Felton trade. “Felton’s signing was the first time when I thought, ‘Oh, wow, I might not be a Knick,’?” Lin said. Two weeks earlier, Lin and the Knicks appeared to be on the same page after he flew to Los Angeles to meet with Mike Woodson, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler and his best friend on the Knicks, Landry Fields, whose offer sheet from Toronto the Knicks later decided not to match. According to Lin, Woodson assured him that he would be the starting point guard and a key part of the team. “I came away really excited,” Lin said. However, when free agency began, Lin wondered if the Knicks were really committed to him. The Knicks’ top priority appeared to be recruiting Steve Nash, a two-time MVP who not only would have been the starting point guard had he signed with the Knicks but would have played between 33 and 38 minutes a night. Nash eventually went to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade, and the Knicks responded by signing 39-year-old Jason Kidd. Suddenly, there was mistrust on both sides with the Knicks already upset that Lin hired a publicist without first consulting them. “I knew the Knicks organization wanted him back,” Tyson Chandler said after training with the Olympic team in Manchester, England. “I know his teammates wanted him back. I felt like Jeremy wanted to come back, but you can’t pass up what Houston threw out there.” Neither Dolan, Grunwald nor Woodson has commented publicly, but the company line at MSG is that the decision was strictly financial. That third year could have cost the Knicks as much as $35 million with luxury-tax penalties factored in. However, former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni admitted that he was led to believe the Knicks would keep Lin because they had the right to match the deal. “I’m thinking, ‘For sure,’?” D’Antoni said. “Even when I was there, well as least we got him, we don’t have to worry about him blowing up and us not being able to afford it.” In his interview with SI’s Pablo Torres, his former Harvard classmate, Lin painted himself as the ultimate team guy who always followed orders. For example, Lin raised eyebrows before Game 5 against Miami when he ruled himself out despite being 85% healthy. Lin had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in early April and never played again. “Every single vet on our team that has been in the league longer than five years pulled me aside and told me that I shouldn’t play,” Lin said. “And I had arguments with them about why I should.” Ultimately, the decision to play was Lin’s, not his teammates. Lin even claims that Dolan told him not to play during a conversation they had before Game 5. That was also the last time they spoke. “I have plans for you in the future,” Lin says Dolan told him. “This is a long-term investment. Don’t rush back.” Lin goes to great lengths to avoid responsibility for sitting out a playoff game. He also attempted to clarify what he meant about being 85% healthy by insisting he meant he was 15% away from being able to play. The explanation is confusing at best. “People think it was easy for me to sit there and watch us lose, like I had nothing to do with the season,” Lin says. “I was dying to play. I didn’t miss a game due to injury in seven years until this past season, and people are acting like I wouldn’t want to play in the playoffs? Of the NBA? In my first season?” Lin became an instant celebrity in New York once he got a chance to play against the Nets in early February, the night before the Giants beat New England in the Super Bowl. For two weeks, he owned New York and was an international sensation. “Linsanity” became part of the sports lexicon, and it appeared as if Lin, just 23, would have a long run in New York. From start to finish, he lasted just seven months but won’t soon be forgotten. “I love the New York fans to death,” Lin says. “That’s the biggest reason why I wanted to return to New York. The way they embraced me, the way they supported us this past season, was better than anything I’ve ever seen or experienced. I’ll go to my grave saying that. What New York did for me was unbelievable. I wanted to play in front of those fans for the rest of my career.” Twitter.com/FisolaNYDN
Jeremy Lin said Wednesday that he "preferred New York" over Houston, but admitted he is now "relieved" to be joining the Rockets.