Knicks Now Seem Set on Letting Lin Go Jeremy Lin averaged 18.5 points and 7.6 assists as an every-day player for 26 games last season. Linsanity is just about over in New York. The Knicks plan to cut ties with Jeremy Lin on Tuesday night, according to a person briefed on the decision, ending a brief, spectacular and now bittersweet love affair between the 23-year-old point guard and his adoring fan base. Lin will play next season for the Houston Rockets, who signed him to a three-year, $25.1 million offer sheet that the Knicks have elected not to match. The Knicks are not expected to announce their decision until this evening, and there is still a chance - albeit incredibly small - that it could be reversed. But as of 4 p.m. the decision had been made and was considered final by those with knowledge of the deliberations. Indeed, the deliberations were said to be over. The Knicks have first-refusal rights on Lin and by rule have until Tuesday at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time to either match the offer or let him walk. The decision was ultimately financial, not emotional, according to people briefed on the deliberations. The contract with Houston includes a third-year balloon payment of $14.9 million, which would have cost the Knicks another $35 million or more in luxury-tax penalties had they matched the deal. The so-called poison pill was designed to dissuade the Knicks. The decision ends two weeks of suspense and speculation, which began when Lin became a restricted free agent on July 1. Now will come the inevitable backlash. Lin saved the Knicks" season in February and instantly became their most popular player in a decade, as well as a global phenomenon. Fans started at least two online petitions to keep him last weekend when it became apparent the Knicks were leaning toward letting him go. Twitter, blogs and fan forums have been filled with anguished comments for days. The Knicks wanted to keep Lin, but his situation was complicated. Because he was a restricted free agent, the Knicks had the right to match any offer. Yet under N.B.A. cap rules, they could offer him no more than $16.13 million in a three-year deal, and a maximum of $28.75 million over five years. Only a rival team was allowed to include the third-year balloon payment. So it was up to Lin to set his own market value, by getting an outside offer. He initially agreed with Houston on a three-year, $19.5 million deal, including a $9.3 million balloon payment in the third year. That deal was agreed to in principle but never signed. When it became apparent that the Knicks would match, the Rockets - having traded Kyle Lowry and lost Goran Dragic, their two incumbent point guards - increased the third-year salary to $14.9 million, close to the maximum allowed. The Knicks are already expected to be over the luxury-tax threshold, so Lin's salary would have cost them tens of millions more under the league's more punitive new system. In recent days, two people briefed on the Knicks" deliberations said it was unlikely the team would keep Lin. Yet both cautioned that the decision was not final and would ultimately be made by one person: James L. Dolan, the Madison Square Garden chairman. However, as of Tuesday afternoon, there was no indication that Dolan would change his mind.