The New York Knicks got a somewhat surprising bit of good news on Friday, but as seems to always be the case nowadays with the Knicks the good fortune that news brought with it may only be temporary.
Guard Jeremy Lin was granted his so-called "early-Bird rights" by arbitrator Kenneth Dam on Friday, a victory for Lin, the Knicks and the players' union that would allow the team to re-sign the 23-year-old to a new deal without using their mid-level exception, which would give the team significantly more flexibility in free agency.
In a nutshell, Bird rights allow players who have spent two or more years with the same team to re-sign with the team without impacting the salary cap. These rights transfer with a player when he is traded, but it was the NBA's contention that they were forfeited when a player is claimed off waivers as Lin was.
Dam, a professor of law at the University of Chicago, agreed with the union's opinion that players claimed off of waivers retain those rights, a decision that union executive director (and mortal enemy of Derek Fisher) Billy Hunter applauded, according to The New York Times.
"Bird and early Bird rights are t ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Gary Davenport
Jeremy Lin: Ongoing Battle for Early-Bird Rights Latest for Dysfunctional Knicks
June 23rd, 2012 by Gary Davenport Leave a reply »
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