Jeremy Lin gets the Steve Serby treatment this weekend. Serby, the Post columnist, often welcomes new players into New York with a lengthy interview that often yields insights that you don't get in post-game interviews or even press conferences.
Serby talked with Lin about LinSanity, the Nets, racism, fans, Kenny Atkinson, Brook Lopez, and this being the Knicks-centric Post, what he thinks about New York's off-season acquisitions, one-by-one. SMH.
Here's a sampling.
On LinSanity and leaving the Knicks
"I was really, really sad. I was sad the way everything went down, ’cause nothing happened the way I thought it was going to. I had wished that they had offered me a contract just in the beginning, and that didn’t even happen. And then, when I found out that they weren’t gonna match, I was even more sad, ’cause honestly, I wanted to finish my career there. "
Q: Why?
"I wanted to play for those fans who rallied behind that city, that came behind us and gave me that experience. I felt like I owed it to them."
On Brooklyn and what Nets fans can expect
"This isn’t the re-creation of Linsanity (smile), this is, for me, just the next chapter. That’s all I’m gonna focus on. If people want to call it whatever they want to call it, they can go ahead and do that, but I’ve kind of set out to see how good I can become and see how good I can make this team...."
On recruiting other players to Brooklyn
"I mean, we gotta turn things around and win more than 21 games for me to do that. But I know enough people, and I think I have friends in the league, and so I’ll be recruiting.
On Nets fans
"We’re gonna need you guys every game loud and proud, and we want to give you a product that you haven’t had the last few years."
On winning and the ultimate goal, a championship
"I’m very driven. I’m a very ambitious person. It’s not gonna happen overnight, it’s gonna take time, for sure. But If I didn’t think that there was the opportunity, or if the people here were capable of putting us in a position, then I don’t think I would have come."
On Kenny Atkinson
"First off, his philosophy or his understanding of everything to me will make him successful. No. 2, he’s humble. And I think what’s really important is, especially as a young coach, is you have to learn and steal concepts, steal ideas...
"And he’s hungry. For my story, one of the things that’s always been a little confusing is people always constantly count me out, or like I always find myself in an underdog position, and I feel like I’ve been able to overcome a lot of those situations. And I feel like for him, he’s someone that reminds you of someone who has that ability to rise above his circumstances and figure it out..."
On Brook Lopez
"He’s one of the least-talked-about really good players in the league, partially because the Nets just haven’t had the success to really push his name or validate and solidify what he has done."
On his own fans
"I got the best fans, man. They fly across the country, I get more gifts than I know what to do with, I have suitcases full of gifts when I come back from Asia. And Asian-American fans: I would just say keep believing in what you feel like you can become and don’t let other people tell you, 'You can’t be this, or can’t be that.' I think if you look in the sports industry or you look in entertainment and acting and different things like that, Asians are really cornered and put into this box, these type of roles or these type of players."
On how racism affects him
"There’s gonna be racism everywhere I go, and some of it’s more subtle, some of it’s less malicious. I mean, every day there’s guys with certain stereotypes or whatever, and it’s not just me. But yeah, I still go through it...
"I just shake it off, it’s not a big deal. Sometimes the stuff people might say or tweet or comment, really racist things, but that doesn’t bother me like it used to. I still get stopped when I try to go through away arenas and stuff, and I’m walking with my teammates, and obviously none of them are Asian but I’m the only one that gets stopped, and they ask for my credentials..."
There's a LOT more, including his diplomatic comments on Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony; LeBron James and Kevin Durant, and oh yeah, Brandon Jennings.