New York has indicated it will indeed match — but now the question becomes, is a guy who played all of 35 games (25 starts) last year before suffering a season-ending meniscus tear in his left knee worth all that green?

Certainly, (Jeremy) Lin is worth more than the $788,000 he made last year, when he averaged 25.0 points, 50.9 percent shooting, 9.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds during an 8-1 stretch over his first nine games as a full-timer.

But $25 million? That’s completely absurd.

And that’s to say nothing of the luxury-tax hit he’d represent when the free-spending Knicks get blasted by the new “super tax” starting in 2013-14.

The most common defense of Lin’s contract is that it’s as much about his off-the-court value as it is a reward for his on-court prowess.

via Sam Gardner of FOX Sports