NBA

Knicks can keep Lin with $5M exception

Thank you, Gilbert Arenas.

With the NBA’s recent Gilbert Arenas Rule, the Knicks can’t be outbid for point guard phenom Jeremy Lin if they are willing to use their full $5 million mid-level exception to retain him this summer as a restricted free agent.

It’s a very long way off before the Knicks decide if Lin is worth the full $5 million mid-level, but they have to use that exception because they don’t have his Bird contract rights.

Because of the Arenas Rule, teams under the salary cap can’t bid more than the NBA’s average salary on Lin. Last season, the average salary was $5 million. It hasn’t been computed, but the average salary could be slightly lower.

Under the Arenas Rule, the Knicks can match the offer. Before Lin’s emergence, the Knicks had targeted Steve Nash with the mid-level exception.