Jeremy Lin says Knicks were his preferred team

“Linsanity” is over in New York. The Knicks declined to match the Rockets offer and surprisingly, Jeremy Lin doesn’t seem as excited about it as he should be.

“The call was from New York general manager Glen Grunwald and the conversation lasted no more than 30 seconds. Grunwald’s message, Lin said, was simple and direct: ‘We wanted to keep you, but it couldn’t work out. Tell your family I say hello, and good luck the rest of the way.’ That was it. 

Lin, the undrafted 23-year-old who rose to global stardom in his first 25 starts after being cut twice, politely told Grunwald, ‘I just want to thank you. Best of luck in the future.’ […] ‘Honestly, I preferred New York,’ Lin says. ‘But my main goal in free agency was to go to a team that had plans for me and wanted me. I wanted to have fun playing basketball. … Now I’m definitely relieved.’ […]

Jr Smith came out and said what many on the Knicks were probably feeling about Lin’s contract, had the Knicks decided to match,  would’ve potentially caused issues in the locker room. Ultimately this was about business and a Harvard grad was smart enough to negotiate a bigger and better payday elsewhere because the Knicks allowed the market to set the price. Lin struck while his stock was the hottest.

I wonder how the Rockets feel about this statement.