With the Jeremy Lin signing official, now would be a good time to see the various reactions around the internet.
First up is Tom Martin from our Houston Rockets blog The Dream Shake, who is excited what the Lin signing means for the Rockets franchise as a whole:
The Rockets finally got a big name free agent, and they stole him from THE major market in the country. Lin isn't the star free agent on the court that the Rockets have coveted, but he certainly is a star in name that will improve Houston's standing on a national stage.
Next is Zach Lowe from SI.com's Point Forward blog, who explains why Lin meant so much to the Knicks, and what Rockets fans might expect when next season rolls around:
He’s an outstanding perimeter quarterback who makes the smartest skip passes in the league, and he’ll toss better-timed and more creative entry passes than Lin could deliver to forwards Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. But let’s not pretend that the Knicks can count on Felton or Kidd to run dynamic pick-and-rolls with center Tyson Chandler next season and dive into the lane, draw the defense and find last season’s NBA’s leader in three-point percentage, forward Steve Novak, spotting up in the corner.
Randy Harvey at the Houston Chronicle just wonders if Jeremy Lin is worth that much money when the Rockets released him last season:
So Houston is now committed to pay $25.1 million over the next three years to a point guard they sent away less than seven months ago for zero in return.
Now I didn’t go to MIT—I can’t even spell it—but I doubt that’s the kind of business the Rockets’ general manager, Daryl Morey, was taught when he was earning his MBA there.
And I sure hope it’s not the kind of business he taught when he was the professor of a class there called "Analytical Sports Management."
If Lin doesn’t work out for the Rockets, students of that class in the future will be studying this deal like aspiring petroleum engineers study "Deepwater Horizon."
Sam Amick of SI knows that this is a huge risk for the Rockets, but the rewards will be just as big if Lin is able to produce:
Lin is no Yao Ming, of course, but he is the closest thing the Rockets have had to an international attraction since the Chinese center retired in July 2011. He's sure to be good for the Rockets' business, but Lin's basketball contributions, or lack thereof, will certainly be scrutinized as he rejoins an organization that is still pushing hard to get Howard.
The Rockets -- who, like the Warriors, cut Lin last season before the undrafted, NBA Development League product had his meteoric rise in New York -- are well aware that this is their latest calculated risk. Only time will tell if it pays off, but Lin will now face widespread skepticism from the many players and even coaches who don't think a player with a 25-game track record of success is worthy of such a generous contract.