Jeremy Lin Knows He Will Always Have Doubters and Haters

Jeremy Lin opened up about the craziness from last season, followed by the Linsanity this summer, in a wide-ranging interview with the Mercury News: “As he looked back on the craziest year he could imagine, Bay Area native Jeremy Lin conceded to the truth of hindsight. He did let Linsanity go to his head. ‘If I’m being honest, in some ways, yes,’ Lin said. ‘I fought it every day. But I think subconsciously it had its effect, everyone catering to you. People were saying only good things for so long that when people said negative stuff, it was like, ‘Whoa, what’s going on?’ […] Lin said he expected to — wanted to — re-sign with the Knicks. But the Rockets, who reportedly pegged him as a primary target, came after him hard. First, they agreed to a four-year, $28 million offer sheet, paying him about $9 million in each of the final two years. But by the time Lin arrived in Houston to sign the offer sheet, the Rockets — after reports the Knicks would match — had pulled the first offer and changed the deal. The new offer sheet was for three years, with a third-year salary of $14.8 million. ‘I didn’t go back to them and ask for more money,’ Lin said. ‘It wasn’t like they gave me the choice to sign one of the two and I chose the one that would hurt the Knicks. I had one contract offer. That was it.’ With no other offer on the table, Lin signed. […] Reports emerged about Lin having bailed out on the team by not playing hurt in the playoffs, about Knicks owner James Dolan feeling betrayed and deceived by Lin. ‘I will always, always have doubters,’ Lin said. ‘But I really want to reach my potential to bring glory to God. That is more motivation than haters and doubters. I want to work just as hard, give just as much, whether or not I have haters.'”