Houston Rockets: The Emancipation Of Jeremy Lin?

Emancipation? Jeremy Lin?

That word and that name go hand-in-hand because that’s what just happened to one of the most intriguing story lines of the NBA for the past couple of seasons.

Is he freed? YES!

Why?

Because he will now be featured on a up-and-coming lineup that will likely struggle but he will have plenty of opportunities for playing time and touches of the basketball.

You know, it was kind of tough to see Lin go. I absolutely adore success stories like his — Lin became Linsanity practically overnight.

The scrappy, undrafted, Ivy League-guard with that oh-so-familiar buzz cut clawed his way into relevancy.

Just how did he do it?

For his entire career, he had been looking for the opportunity to pounce when available and it finally was with the New York Knicks.

Dec. 17, 2012; New York, NY, USA; Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin (7) goes up for a basket as New York Knicks center Tyson Chandler (6) reacts behind him during the first quarter at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

He knew what it was like to be the underdog and he became weary of riding the pine.

When the Knicks’ guards started dropping like flies because of injury, Mike D’Antoni was inching closer and closer down the depth chart until he got to Lin.

For the next 26 games after his debut, he became world-renowned, running the pick-and-roll efficiently and conjuring up a fan base that has grown to the likes that we’ve never seen for a player that has a story like his.

Every night, his name dominated the headlines and people wanted to know what he’d do next to help the Knicks win ball games. They may not necessarily have been fans of basketball or sports for that matter but they just wanted to know how long he could keep it up.

His season may have been cut short with his knee injury that season but the momentum that he provided was insurmountable and teams — including the Rockets — filed in line for his services when he became a restricted free agent that off season.

The Rockets eventually were the winners and they signed him to three-year deal. Lin had many bright spots in his second stay with the Rockets but it was marred by his high turnover count, he averaged nearly three per game last season.

Because of that, it had been rumored for the past few months that he would be traded to a multitude of different teams and now we know where he has landed.

I knew in my heart that Lin’s stay in H-Town would be cut short because of his escalated third year of the contract that he inked just two seasons ago.

It’s quite simple — his contract was no longer cap-friendly and the Rockets felt that his production did not equal the payment of that money to him.

It would’ve been a severe hit to their cap if they continued on with that contract, so Daryl Morey and the rest of the Rockets’ brass had to scramble to find a taker.

They needed a team that didn’t mind taking the salary cap hit and had valuable assets to get something in return — that team eventually became the Los Angeles Lakers.

Lin was owed $15 million for the upcoming season and with the initiatives that the Rockets wanted to undertake, there’s no way he would’ve been able to align with their agenda.