Hours after unexpectedly becoming a Houston Rocket, Jeremy Lin spoke to Sports Illustrated. Here are some quotes from the article, some of which are hard to swallow for Knicks fans:

On which team he preferred: ”Honestly, I preferred New York. But my main goal in free agency was to go to a team that had plans for me and wanted me. I wanted to have fun playing basketball. … Now I’m definitely relieved.”

On having dinner with Woodson in late June: Woodson was saying, ‘You’re going to be a starter, you’re going to be a big part of the team. I came away really excited.”

On finding out about Felton to Knicks while surfing internet: ”Felton’s signing was the first time when I thought, ‘Oh, wow, I might not be a Knick. The next time he heard from an executive in the organization, it was to tell him the Knicks were letting him go.

On sitting out Game 5 vs. Heat: ”Every single vet on our team that has been in the league longer than five years pulled me aside and told me that I shouldn’t play. And I had arguments with them about why I should.”

On misconception that he’s all bout money: ”If I really wanted to, I could have triple-digit endorsements.”

On current situation: “A year ago, I was just trying to stay alive and fight day by day, just to be on a roster,” says Lin, who famously slept on couches upon his arrival in New York. “What I have now is way more than I ever would have dreamed of, and way more than I need.”

On why he wanted to return to NY: “I love the New York fans to death. That’s the biggest reason why I wanted to return to New York. The way they embraced me, the way they supported us this past season, was better than anything I’ve ever seen or experienced. I’ll go to my grave saying that. What New York did for me was unbelievable. I wanted to play in front of those fans for the rest of my career.”