The Knicks face their cross-town rivals the Nets in preseason showdown at Madison Square Garden today, which marks the first time Jeremy Lin will be playing against his former team in a New York City-based uniform.
The new Nets signee was given a three-year, $38 million contract by the Nets this past summer, according to Spotrac.
Every sports fan remembers the "Linsanity" craze that took the Big Apple by storm, at which time he went from being a bench warmer for the Knicks to becoming a starter in 25 of his 35 games. Lin averaged 14.6 points, 6.2 assists, and 1.6 steals per game during the 2011-2012 season, but Carmelo still fails to acknowledge Lin's rise to fame.
When speaking to Marc Berman of the New York Post on Friday, Anthony was seemingly ambivalent about Lin being tagged as a franchise player for the Nets.
"He is the face of their franchise—believe it or not,’’ Anthony stated after Friday’s Knicks practice. “He came up, they paid him. Now the ball is in his hands. Now he’s one of the franchise players over there. I don’t know what you want me to say about that. I’m happy for him, excited for him to see how it’s going to turn out over there.’’
When asked by Berman about the Linsanity craze, Melo replied, "That was five, six years ago, bro. I forgot about that."
Melo forgot about Linsanity, one of the biggest stories of the 2011-2012 season when they won 7 games in a row, and Lin torched Kobe Bryant for 38 points when the Lakers came to New York in February that season? Riiight.
Maybe Carmelo isn't wanting to give any praise to the team he has cross-town beef with—or Lin altogether. Former Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni said on a "Vertical" podcast that Carmelo didn’t “adapt’’ well while he was injured, and then returned to the team during the "Linsanity" surge.
Plus, when Lin left New York in 2012 to sign a three-year deal, $15 million deal with the Rockets, Anthony considered that contract for Lin to be “ridiculous.’’
So, is it fair to channel YG here, asking Melo, "Why you always hatin?"
