Jeremy Lin Texts ‘Goodbye’ To Wrong Teammate
For what had to be an agonizing few moments, rookie Scott Machado thought his NBA career was over before it began when teammate Jeremy Lin accidentally texted him, “goodbye and good luck.”
Fox Sports reports that the rookie point guard Machado was awaiting word on whether or not he’d make the team when the Rockets traded Jeremy Lamb to Oklahoma City as part of a five-player deal. Lin, wanting to be a gracious veteran meant to text his farewell sentiments to Lamb but instead sent the message to Machado.
Machado heard about the trade, but when he got Lin’s message he thought maybe he had been cut. The Rockets did, after all, have four point guards in camp at the time.
“I was like, ‘Hey, it’s Scott, it’s not Jeremy,’ ” Machado said. ” ‘Did you hear something about me?’ I was all nervous. He was like, “Oh, I apologize, I apologize.’ It all worked out.”
Machado officially made the Rockets roster when Houston waived veteran guard Shaun Livingston on Monday. Machado who had a non-guaranteed contract, came into camp as an undrafted free agent after a standout career at Iona. As a senior at Iona, Machado averaged 13.6 points and 4.9 points per game.
Once Jeremy Lin’s mistaken text message was in his rear view mirror and Machado was sure he was on the roster, he expressed his gratitude to the team.
“We had four good point guards here, and I was the newcomer, the undrafted one,” Machado told The Houston Chronicle. “I was here (Monday), and nobody told me anything. I came out to practice, and it felt good. I feel like it’s a true blessing. It’s something I always wanted. I’ve been working hard to get where I wanted to go. I feel real good.”
Jeremy Lin took the national attention by storm last season when after an uneventful season as a reserve with Golden State he became force with the New York Knicks. Despite the flub with the text message, Lin is actually a pretty intelligent guy. When he didn’t get a chance for a college basketball scholarship, he attended, and graduated from Harvard.
