On the eve of their deadline to match the Rockets’ three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet for Jeremy Lin, the Knicks have yet to tip their hand. Multiple people involved in the process told CBSSports.com Monday that New York has not communicated its intentions to Houston or to Lin’s camp.

But there was a school of thought in league circles Monday that the Knicks matching the massively back-loaded offer for Lin should not be ruled out. Doing so would require that one of the Knicks’ big salaries would have to be moved in the next two years or the team would face a potentially massive luxury-tax bill in 2014-15.

If they matched Lin’s offer sheet, which calls for him to be paid $5 million next season, $5.225 million in 2013-14 and $14.9 million in 2014-15, the Knicks would have $80 million committed to five players in the balloon-payment year of Lin’s deal. Viewed another way, if the Knicks added the necessary players between now and then through the draft and other means, Lin’s nearly $15 million salary in 2014-15 would cost them $43 million, including $28 million in luxury tax under the new tax rates that take effect with the 2013-14 season.

via Ken Berger of CBS Sports