Jeremy Lin has withdrawn from the USA Men's Select Team that was set to help prepare the U.S. Olympic team from July 6-11 for 2012 London Olympics. Lin informed USA Basketball on Monday, saying that the withdrawal was due to his contract status.
"Unfortunately, I am not going to be able to participate in the 2012 USA Men's Select Team this summer," said Lin. "It was such an incredible honor to be selected, but I have withdrawn my name from the team because of my status as a free agent. I hope to have the opportunity to participate with USA Basketball at some point in the future."
Lin is a restricted free agent with the New York Knicks. While the Knicks have said they would like to retain Lin, they will likely wait to match whatever offer sheet Lin signs with another organization. The ploy could backfire on the Knicks if the another team offers a backloaded "poison pill" contract. Such a deal would force New York to pay an exorbitant amount of money late in the length of the deal.
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