New York Knicks were close to cutting Jeremy Lin – Linsanity ‘almost never happened’, says Jared Jeffries
- Former Knicks teammate Jared Jeffries says coach Mike D’Antoni spoke of cutting Lin before his breakout period
- ‘Jeremy had played really well in practice, but had struggled in games,’ veteran centre tells podcast host Chuck D
Speaking to The Athletic’s Shattered: Hope, Heartbreak and the New York Knicks podcast, Jeffries told host Chuck D how close Lin was to getting cut from the NBA in an episode that focuses on Lin’s breakout.
“Me and [then Knicks coach] Mike D’Antoni even talked about it,” Jeffries recalled, saying that it felt like their season was over with their star players such as Baron Davis out injured.
“Jeremy had played really well in practice, but had struggled in games. We talked about maybe the possibility of cutting him because Baron had just gotten hurt and we needed more guard play.”
Lin, then 23 and in his first season in the NBA, became a global star during the “Linsanity” period which started with a 25-point game coming off the bench against the New Jersey Nets and ran until the All-Star break.
He made his first NBA career start in a 99-88 win against the Utah Jazz on February 6, with Lin scoring a game-high 28 points.
Lin says mother risked savings for NBA dream and ‘Linsanity’
The undrafted Harvard graduate would lead the Knicks to seven consecutive wins. Lin had a record 109 points across his first four starts, 10 more than Michael Jordan.
With the Knicks in the midst of an injury crisis, Lin played 13 games before the break, averaging 22.3 points and nine assists.
Lin would leave the Knicks for the Houston Rockets at the end of the season.
The nine-year NBA veteran is looking to return to the league this season after playing last season with the Beijing Ducks in the Chinese Basketball Association.
Lin has previously mentioned how close he felt to being cut before “Linsanity” and how it all came about when he spent the night on the couch of teammate Landry Fields.
“For the past weeks I was crashing on my bros couch in Stuytown while waiting to see if I’d make it past the cut deadline – a week away,” he wrote earlier this year on Instagram of the time leading up to that Nets game.
Nine years after ‘Linsanity’, Lin says G League ‘feels like rookie year’
“Prior to that I was getting DNPs but I got in that night against the Celtics … and didn’t do crap ha. As we flew back to NY for our 3rd game in 3 nights, I was devastated bc [because] I could see my NBA dream coming to an end. If I didn’t show out soon, I’d get cut for the 3rd time in 2 months … My bro had a friend in town so I asked my teammate for a place to stay.
“Landry Fields offered me his couch but warned me it was small. I didn’t care but when we got in at 2am to his apt [app], I realized just how small. With my head and feet hanging off I crashed for the night. The next day my agent, Roger Montgomery, called.
“He said, ‘honestly you didn’t do enough last night to see the floor tonight, but if you do get in tonight, you gotta go for it. If you don’t, you’re probably gettin cut after the game.’ I grabbed a Corn Dog and fries from Papaya Dog, took a nap and headed to MSG.”
Written off as a PR stunt, ‘Linsanity’ began even before Lin’s NBA debut
That night Lin scored 25 against the Nets and never looked back with highlights coming in the form of beating the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers and a buzzer beater at the Toronto Raptors.
