NBA: Knicks fans start petition to keep Jeremy Lin

New York Knicks fans have begun a petition aimed at the management team of the New York Knicks, asking them to match the qualifying offer extended by the Houston Rockets, in order for the team to keep Taiwanese-American point guard Jeremy Lin. The petition, hosted online by Change.org, was created July 15 (July 16, PHL time) and has quickly amassed just a little over 1,000 signatures in the short time it's been online. The letter accompanying the petition simply reads, "Keep Jeremy Lin - Match the Houston Rockets' Offer [sic]. Jeremy Lin is a transcendent player." The Rockets offered Lin a backloaded contract worth nearly $30 million, but set up in such a way that the point guard will be paid $14.9 million in the 2014-15 season, when the Knicks will already have $62.4 million committed to just the contracts of Carmelo Anthony, Amar'e Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler. Just recently, the Knicks swung a trade in which they acquired center Kurt Thomas, and more importantly, point guard Raymond Felton from the Portland Trail Blazers, with Felton inking a brand-new, three-year $10 million deal. New York also came to terms with veteran point guard Jason Kidd and Argentine playmaker Pablo Prigioni, further making it unlikely that they will match Houston's offer. The unheralded Lin took over the point guard chores after injuries to his teammates and sparked an extended winning run for the Knicks, which was later dubbed as the "Linsanity" phenomenon. Lin last season averaged 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.6 steals in 35 games, 25 in which he started. Teams have three days to match contract offers to restricted free agents, but there is some confusion as to when the deadline for the Knicks is, with New York citing a delay in the receipt of the signed offer sheet from Houston, reports Sports Illustrated's Sam Amick. - AMD, GMA News