The Knicks scored good news Friday evening when the NBA announced that both Jeremy Lin and Steve Novak would retain their “Early Bird Rights,” meaning the Knicks can go over the salary cap to retain them in free agency and still use their midlevel exception.
“Under the settlement, the union agreed to limit the scope of the ruling by arbitrator Kenneth Dam in exchange for the league’s agreement to drop its appeal,” the NBA statement says. “The rule will now be that players who are claimed from waivers will have the same “Early Bird” rights as if they had been traded, but will not have full “Bird” rights unless they are claimed through the league’s amnesty procedure.”
The decision means that the Knicks will have greater flexibility when free agency begins at midnight Sunday and can re-sign both Lin, the point guard who gave birth to the international phenomenon known as “Linsanity,” and Novak, their sharpshooting ace, without regard for the salary cap at a starting salary of about $5 million.
Knicks GM Glen Grunwald Grunwald can offer Lin a maximum four-year deal starting at $5.5 million with 7 percent raises — a package worth $24.5 million, according to the New York Post.
Grunwald told reporters he is uncertain how it will all play out once midnight comes.
“This new circumstance of the new collective bargaining agreement,I’m not sure how teams are going to operate, how agents are going to operate,’’ Grunwald said, per the Post. “Are people going to wait and see? I’m not certain how it will play out.’’
Grunwald would like to keep both Lin and Novak, as well as free agents J.R. Smith and Landry Fields.
“We want to keep both [Lin and Novak] and keep Landry and J.R.,’’ Grunwald said. “Those are four free-agents we want to keep.
“They’re all valuable players.We’re going to try to keep all four of them. We have some [recruiting] plans. We’ve been in contact with our own free agents. They’ve expressed their desire to come back. They know we love them and want them. We’ll do the negotiating and hopefully it all works out’’
Now the Knicks can use the midlevel exception on a veteran point guard, possibly Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, Andre Miller, Raymond Felton, as well as shooting guard Ray Allen.
Kidd has reportedly been golfing and hanging out with free-agent-to-be Deron Williams in the New York area, and the two are said to be talking about playing together for the Brooklyn Nets.
“The guard position is something obviously we have to address,’’ Grunwald said. “Hopefully, we’ll deal with our own free agents but when you look at our roster, the holes are there.”
