Carmelo Anthony and Jeremy Lin stand on the court against the New Jersey Nets at Madison Square Garden on February 20, 2012. (Photo : Getty Images/Chris Trotman)
Jeremy Lin was a budding star in 2012 when he was playing for the New York Knicks while stars Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire were sidelined. According to former Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni, Anthony and Stoudemire were two of the main reason why Lin was not re-signed.
In an appearance on The Vertical podcast, D'Antoni shed some light to what really happened in New York. He mentioned that the Knicks' top two stars resented Lin for the praise he was receiving and both sides struggled to adapt to each other.
"It was there, it's real. The problem that we had was that for Jeremy to be really good, which he was, he had to play a certain way. It was hard for him to adapt," D'Antoni said.
The new Houston Rockets head coach also added that Anthony and Lin could have co-existed if the former was willing to play the four. However, the nine-time All-Star did not want to play the position that led to the conflict.
On the other hand, Stoudemire was unhappy about his potential role of being a backup center to Tyson Chandler. He was just a year removed from averaging 25.3 points and 8.2 rebounds and he was unwilling to be relegated to the Sixth Man role.
However, D'Antoni's comments contradict what Stoudemire told the New York Post in an interview last February. The six-time All-Star said that it would have been "cool" if Lin stayed in New York. He also praised the 27-year-old guard in his time with the Knicks.
"We were proud of him having his moment. A lot of times you got to enjoy somebody else's success," Stoudemire said.
It should be noted that the Knicks locker room was divided about the Lin and his success. Some role players were reportedly upset that an undrafted sophomore from Harvard was able to get past them in the rotation.
All of the "Linsanity" drama unfolded in the 2012 offseason when the Knicks decided not to match the offer by the Houston Rockets. Lin played in Houston for two years before getting traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2014. However, he was not able to recapture the magic he had in New York.
Nevertheless, Lin bounced back quite nicely last season with the Charlotte Hornets. His great play off the bench earned him a $36 million deal and a starting gig with the Brooklyn Nets. "Linsanity" is back in New York but in a different city.
Check out the video below for the Top 10 plays of "Linsanity" in 2012.
