Reports everywhere have had Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak coming back to the New York Knicks in 2013, but that has yet to be decided. The Knicks will face an arbitrator on June 13th, as they try to decide if they can resign both Lin and Novak.
Novak and Lin were picked up from waivers in the past season. Lin was claimed off the Houston Rockets' waivers and Novak from the San Antonio Spurs. The "Bird rights," which were named after Larry Bird after the Boston Celtics were allowed to resign Bird and go over the cap because he was a member of the team.
In the NBA, the rule allows teams to exceed the salary cap to sign their own players. Players have to be a part of the team for three years in some exceptions. The Knicks are trying to apply the early Bird exception, which permits any player who has played two years or a portion of two years with a team to resign with the club.
In the past, waived players have not been able to fall under the Bird rights as the NBA states that a player's clock starts again once they are waived from a team.
The Knicks claim that, even though both players were on waivers, their time should continue running once reinstated in a new team. If a player is traded, he is not penalized. The Knicks hope to successfully bring this argument to arbitrators.
Ask Knicks fans and they will tell you that 2012 would not have been the same without these players. Novak became a three point machine making 133 three-pointers averaging 47 percent in 54 games played.
Jeremy Lin became the face of the franchise when Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler were unable to play. In 25 starts he averaged almost 15 points and six assists. His vision was incredible as he was able to find open players all over the floor. Lin's ability to slice through defenders gave teams a hard time.
It can be said that Lin single handedly brought the Knicks back to relevance as reporters and NBA analysts said they could not remember the last time the streets around Madison Square Garden had buzzed the way they did while Lin was winning with the Knicks.
In 2013, between Carmelo, Chandler and Amar'e Stoudemire, the Knicks will owe $53 million. If the arbitrators rule against the Knicks, it will make it almost impossible for the team to resign both of the players.
