One thing the media has trouble with is letting things go, especially when we've framed something out of context and have yet to understand the particular angle of a story we're covering.
That's what's happening with this idea that Carmelo Anthony somehow drove Jeremy Lin out of New York, rather than the actual ridiculous contract he referred to just days before the Knicks declined to match the Rockets' three-year, $25 million offer to the young point guard.
When Anthony called Lin's deal ridiculous, the media took that as him not believing Lin was worth the money or the effort to keep him (likely true, by the way). Casual and urban vernacular was never considered here, as the term "ridiculous" is often used loosely in regular conversation, and the context definitely applied here when you think about the way Houston structured Lin's deal.
Frank Isola of the New York Daily News wrote that Melo's Olympic teammates were joking with him about the whole madness of the conversation on the team bus in Barcelona. Here's a quote from Tyson Chandler:
"Guys on the bus were laughing and giving him some flak. But Melo said, ‘I liked the kid. I wanted him back.' You say that on the bus when no cameras are around and you know that's how he really feels."
Melo has said from the beginning that he's proud of Lin and that the deal in Houston was something he couldn't refuse.
Read more on the Rockets at The Dream Shake blog and SB Nation Houston. Head over to our Olympic coverage to keep up with Team USA.