Jeremy Lin's arrival in Hollywood is victory basketball-wise for the Los Angeles Lakers, which might have pulled off the most significant deal outside LeBron James' return to Cleveland last Friday.
Just few hours before LeBron James announced his decision to take his talent back to Cleveland, the dominoes started to fall one by one in a very busy day for team executives.
General manager Mitch Kupchack, who was already informed that the Lakers no longer have a shot at Carmelo Anthony, hooked up with Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey, who was at that time tenuously waiting for James' decision.
Morey has been on a roll these past two off-seasons, getting James Harden via trade with Oklahoma City Thunder in 2012, and of course, snatching Dwight Howard from the Lakers in 2013.
This year, Morey was gunning for a trifecta - signing a third superstar that would complete his Big Three aimed to bring championships to Houston.
However, Morey was aware that he needed to create more space in the salary cap to accommodate such huge deal. So, moments after free-agency officially started, Morey pulled off his first move by letting Chandler Parsons test the market as a restricted free-agent. The next day, he followed it up with a trade that sent Omer Asik and his $15 million paycheck ($8 million against the cap) to the New Orleans Pelicans.
But these moves were not enough, not even close. For Morey to sign a max player, another high-salary asset should be dumped elsewhere. Apparently, it was Lin and his $15 million paycheck for 2014-15 season.
Similar to Asik's, Lin's contract is also a back-loaded deal. Morey structured this kind of contracts so he could have the flexibility to create cap spaces when he needed. Lin, who averaged 12.5 points and 4 dimes per game, is still attracting interest from teams.
The Philadelphia 76ers and Milwaukee Bucks emerge as the early candidates for Lin, but his expensive contract appeared to be the sticking point for a deal to take place.
With the Rockets eagerly looking for a trade partner for Lin, the Lakers made a bold move by accepting Lin's big contract along with a first-round pick and draft considerations, and giving the Rockets the cap space it wanted from the start of this whole thing.
The Lakers, needing stability in the backcourt, appeared to have snatched a good value player in Lin, who has the ability to make impact on both ends of the floor. Put him in a right system, and it won't be surprising to see Lin producing 18 points and 7 assists per ball game. Of course, Kupchak also got a first-round pick the Lakers can use in the future.
As for the Rockets, Morey and his staffs seem to be the biggest losers Friday night, seeing their chance of landing a superstar dashed away after Chris Bosh decided to re-sign with the Miami Heat for a whopping 5-year, $118 million deal.
It might be a little premature, but several months from now, when teams wrap up their regular-season schedule, the Lakers will reap the benefits of having Lin on the roster, while the Rockets sulk in regret of losing a key piece of their team.
That makes the Lakers the biggest winners behind the Cavs on the monumental day of July 12, 2014.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
