Somewhere in the future we will likely see an economics thesis written about what Jeremy Lin‘s value is. He’s the NBA’s version of the hot new start-up that’s the most talked-about thing that no one is positive can bring in money. His two months on top of the NBA’s mountain as social-media king has been parlayed into an offer from Houston, of course. It’s old news, but here’s where there is always value: Asking his teammates about Lin’s contract. Carmelo Anthony and J.R. Smith delivered Sunday with their honest takes on the pros and cons of Linsanity. ‘Melo did express that he absolutely wants him back, telling reporters that “I would love to see him back.” Then he said the honest thing about the $25 million deal. “It’s up to the organization to say they want to match that ridiculous contract that’s out there.” The first two years, of $5 million each, isn’t crazy money for a guard like Lin (that Landry Fields offer, meanwhile, is insane). But the third year is nuts at $14 million, and ‘Melo is right to say it. Of course, is hoping that Raymond Felton will be the patch to cover up the loss any less weird? The other part of the deal was Smith’s take from Las Vegas to Sports Illustrated‘s Sam Amick. If the Knicks keep Lin, would that deal make for jealousy in the locker room? Smith to Amick: “I think some guys take it personal, because they’ve been doing it longer and haven’t received any reward for it yet. I think it’s a tough subject to touch on for a lot of guys.” The Knicks still have two days to go to decide whether or not to keep Lin. … That’s not even the last Knicks note. Jason Kidd was arrested for DWI in the Hamptons after crashing his 2010 Escalade into a pole at 2 a.m. Not a good look to start your tenure in New York … In other free agency dealings on Sunday, Phoenix claimed Luis Scola off amnesty waivers from Houston. Scola had a couple nice Tweets to his fans once he got the news. “Special thanks to the Houston Rockets organization, you make my dream come true and I will never forget that neither.” Scola’s avatar is his Rockets uniform so this was the logical next tweet: “Now its time to change my twitter picture…” … Hit the jump to check out everything that went down at the World Basketball Festival’s third day.
Bill Walton‘s body broke down on him years ago, but he can do work just sitting down if you give him a mic. The big man once called the best player of his generation who is now more famous for wearing Deadhead tie-dyed T-shirts and a fake Twitter account that parrots his voice will join the broadcast booth of Pac-12 men’s hoops games next season. USA Today had the news Sunday about how there will be more “throw it down!” references in the future. It’s too bad that the broadcasts are going to be on at a time when only one time zone is still awake. If only he and Gus Johnson could pair up. Can’t wait to hear how this turns out. … The only thing more prevalent in D.C. this weekend besides the heat was hoops. It’s still going on on Monday with a Team USA exhibition against no-slouch Brazil, but Sunday belonged to the cities. Our man Sean Sweeney was there again taking in the NYC vs. LA final and a dunk competition that was owned outright by Jus Fly. … The City Tournament of Champions was a NYC win after 2 Hard 2 Guard hit a stepback triple to put down a hungry LA squad with Marcus Williams and Pooh Jeter. Jeter wasn’t hitting anything from the same spot on the left wing in the first half, but 2H2G wasn’t doing much either — until he put on a mini run that gave NYC a seven-point lead in the second half. Once he was hitting Js and slashing to the cup in the third, his whole family section in the stands at the Armory was going crazy. LA was up four with five minutes left, but like that scratched CD in your ’90s Discman, 2 Hard 2 Guard went on repeat. He drove to the rim at will and then closed it down with his three after LA had been up one with 49.6 remaining. LeBron was in the house for the final but left after the first quarter and took an entire section with him. Perks of being the King. … Then it was Jus Fly‘s turn. He missed all of his final dunks and still won; that’s how good he is. The final dunk was a somersault through the legs after trying a 360 under the legs because LeBron goaded him into it. He pulled off one where he went under the legs and jumped over a big 6-10 dude (one you can check out back here at Dimemag tomorrow). LeBron was like “Just jump into the rim. You don’t even need a ball” and asked him to do “The best dunk you’ve ever done.” … The last showcase was the Global Challenge where the U.S. beat Canada 100-86. Andrew Wiggins was the star attraction but his NBA-ready pull up J was offset by an up-and-down day. He’s long and could easily put on 30 points to a frame that can absolutely bounce. He jumps a lot like Shawn Marion. … We’re out like Walton.
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