J.R. Smith suggests Lin contract would not go over well in Knicks locker room

There’s a real question now whether the Knicks will match the Jeremy Lin offer sheet from Houston, a three-year, $25 million offer. They have until Tuesday to decide.

On one hand there is the fact Lin is not worth that much, he’s really not worth the $14.2 million he makes the third year of the deal. With the Knicks just signing Raymond Felton and with Jason Kidd on the roster, the Knicks don’t need him, it’s not a basketball move.

But the Lin contract was never really about basketball — the man sells a lot of jersey, sells tickets and has sponsors lining up. He’s good for business and a deal at $5 million a year, which is what he makes the first two years of the contract. It’s the third year that is in question — is it worth it?

But there’s another consideration for New York: What would it do to the Knicks locker room? J.R. Smith was honest and told Sam Amick of Sports Illustrated it wouldn’t be good.

“I think some guys take it personal, because they’ve been doing it longer and haven’t received any reward for it yet. I think it’s a tough subject to touch on for a lot of guys.”

Carmelo Anthony already called the Lin contract offer “ridiculous.” And in a basketball terms he is right, Lin might be solid starting PG in a few years, but he’s not a $14 million a year guy. Especially not in an NBA world with a punitive looming luxury tax coming.

But this is a business decision. This is a James Dolan decision.