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Rockets exec sorry he cut NBA star
Houston general manager Daryl Morey admitted Thursday the Rockets made a mistake when they cut Jeremy Lin, whose recent exploits for the Knicks have made him an NBA sensation.
"Did not know he was this good," Morey admitted in a Twitter posting on Thursday. "Anyone who says they knew misleading U".
Lin, the first Taiwanese-American to play in the NBA, scored 25 points off the bench to help the Knicks beat the New Jersey Nets on Saturday.
On Monday, in his first career start, he follwed with a career-best 28 points in a Knicks win over Utah that had fans at Madison Square Garden singing his praises.
On Wednesday, he delivered a "double-double" of 23 points and 10 assists to help the Knicks beat the Wizards in Washington 107-93.
Such was the buzz surrounding Lin that the Wizards' arena was packed with spectators eager to see and cheer him, and the team had to open the arena's ice hockey press box to accommodate Asian media outlets.
"Finally, really happy for (Jeremy Lin)," Morey said. "Very hard working, nice, & humble. He has a great, great future".
Lin, who attended the academically oriented Harvard University rather than a powerhouse basketball college, wasn't drafted out of university.
He was eventually signed by the Golden State Warriors for the 2010-11 season, but they waived him prior to this season. The Rockets had claimed Lin, but released him in December to allow for the signing of Samuel Dalembert.
The Knicks signed Lin off waivers two days after the Rockets let him go.
The Knicks, missing Carmelo Anthony through injury and Amare Stoudemire because of a death in the family, have benefited from Lin's sudden rise.
Wednesday's game was the third straight in which he scored at least 20 points and the third straight in which he set a career-best in assists.
"He has the ability and the talent to play like this every night," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said.
Added teammate Jared Jeffries: "Without him right now who knows where we would be."
