After tonight's performance against the Raptors, it doesn't look like the attention surrounding Jeremy Lin is going to decrease anytime soon. Lin turned the ball over quite a bit in the first half but wound up with 27 points, 11 assists, and the game winning shot. Here's more on the Knicks..
- Before Lin, the D-League's Erie BayHawks' top alum was Hawks forward Ivan Johnson, writes Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog. Johnson averaged 22.6 points in 49 games with the BayHawks before getting his opportunity with Atlanta this year.
- While Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni has a hand in the club's personnel decisions, the signings of Lin and Novak were driven by interim General Manager Glen Grunwald, a source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post. Grunwald has kept a low profile since accepting the position over the summer but has quietly revamped the Knicks roster.
- Howard Beck of the New York Times writes that contrary to speculative reports, D’Antoni was not in danger of being fired when the Knicks were spiraling earlier this year. By all indications, the Knicks are prepared to let him finish the season.
- Lin has reignited the Knicks this year but the point guard could have wound up as a Raptor, writes Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun. Team president Bryan Colangelo liked Lin in pre-draft workouts in 2010 and also had him in mind at one point this season.
- Several factors are at play when it comes to how much Lin can earn in a new contract this summer, writes Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. A new provision in the collective bargaining agreement allows players who achieve certain playing-time benchmarks to land a higher qualifying offer. In Lin's case, the highest qualifying offer he could get under these new rules would be about $2.7MM.