A Grain of Saul: Linsanity fizzles out, free agency looms

Jeremy Lin’s season is over. But now what?

Less than two months ago, the 23-year-old was… Jeremy Lin’s season is over. But now what?

Less than two months ago, the 23-year-old was carrying the Knicks and the Asian American community on his back. Now, sidelined by a torn meniscus and nothing more than a back-page story because of a drop in production, the challenges of Lin’s NBA career will really begin.

When Linsanity first ran wild in New York and eventually all over the globe, I warned my fellow NBA fans to be calm. He had just played six incredible games, but it wasn’t time to put him in the Hall of Fame.

I warned the world about Carmelo Anthony, the ball-hogging megastar who was riding the pine with an injury during Lin’s explosion.

I told you that Amare Stoudemire’s presence inside would take away from Lin’s production and keep the point guard’s numbers low.

In fact, I placed several bets among friends that Lin wouldn’t eclipse 30 points again this season, despite his explosion for 38 against the Lakers back in February.

And now, while Lin preps for surgery, I get to bask in the glory of being right.

Since Lin dropped 28 points against the Dallas Mavericks on Feb. 19, he hasn’t broken 21. In fact, since that game, he’s only eclipsed 20 points three times. In that same time, he has also scored in single digits three times.

So what happened? What was it about Feb. 20 that turned Lin into another guy in the stat box? Well, it was the return of Anthony.

After Lin went off against the Mavericks on that fateful day in February, Melo returned for the Knicks’ game against New Jersey the next night to drop 11 points and log 37 minutes. Since then, Anthony has been slowly taking Lin’s minutes — and production — away.

Lin’s minutes have decreased significantly, both because of nagging injuries and the return of the Knicks’ two superstars. Yet the Knicks are still finding ways to win.

When they won five straight games in the middle of March — including wins over conference foes such as Indiana and Philadelphia — nobody was talking about Lin.

Why? Well, simply put, he wasn’t doing much. In their dominant 121-79 win over Portland that started the streak, Lin was outscored by Anthony, Stoudemire, Steve Novak, J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert and Tyson Chandler.

The interesting part of Lin’s career will come this summer, when the Knicks have to evaluate their staff. Assuming the Knicks hold on to their current place in the standings, they will have an early playoff exit.

When free agency comes around, the team will have to improve. As the Knicks consider their roster, they’re going to see one very intriguing name on the “restricted free agent” list: Jeremy Lin.

Because Lin is a restricted free agent who has played only two years in the league, the Knicks can’t offer him more than $5 million in his first two years of a new contract. However, that opens the door for other teams to offer him contract deals that pay the big bucks in later years.

For example, the New Jersey Nets have the cap room to offer a deal worth approximately $36 million over four years. With money like that, the Nets wouldn’t have any trouble out-bidding the cap-constrained Knicks.

But how much is Lin really worth? At the end of the day, he comes off to me as nothing more than a mid-level point guard who just tore a ligament in his knee and has shown no guarantee he’s sturdy enough to last in the NBA. But one thing is for sure: Lin brings in the money.

During the first week of Linsanity, Grantland reported that Madison Square Garden Inc.’s stock went up from $29.32 to $31.15, increasing the value of the arena by — wait for it — $139 million.

With the massive following that Lin has gathered, teams will be itching to bring him in, whether or not his numbers are worthy of the contract. The question is whether the Knicks can find a way to keep him.