New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony raised more than a few eyebrows on Sunday when he offered reporters, including Yahoo! Sports' own Marc J. Spears , his opinion on whether the Knicks should match the three year, $25.1 million offer sheet that the Houston Rockets tendered to restricted free agent point guard Jeremy Lin. "It's up to the organization to say they want to match that ridiculous contract that's out there,'' Anthony said Sunday. There was, of course, a reasonable enough explanation for that arsenic-laced phrase — that the contract is "ridiculous" not because Lin doesn't deserve to be paid, but because Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and company structured Lin's offer sheet to pay him a below-market rate amounting to about $10.2 million over the first two years of the deal, then drop the hammer with a huge balloon payment of nearly $15 million in the third year. While this is merely an example of several not-ridiculous events coming together — Lin finding a deal from another suitor, as is his right in restricted free agency; Lin finding maximum value for his services, as the Knicks allowed him to do by letting him test the market; the Rockets structuring a completely CBA-legal deal that optimizes their chances of getting the player they want — you can certainly suggest that elements of the situation, like perhaps the fact that the suitor can use that average cap figure while the matching team can't, are "ridiculous." Toss a bit of clarification and a dash of nuance into the mix, and what 'Melo said would've made perfect sense. However, because this is 'Melo talking to the media, clarification and nuance weren't on the menu ... at least, not right away. Anthony instead reiterated to Spears that "it's up to ownership, not me" to match on Lin, and that he's "tired of people trying to blame me for the fact that the Knicks might not match." No emphasis on the way the Rockets drew up the deal, no complete reiteration of support for Lin's paper chase, no clear division between anger at Houston and dap for Lin. Opportunity missed. A day and a half later, though, Anthony located those friendlier ingredients. Of course he wants Jeremy back, you silly geese. From Rod Boone of Newsday :

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