Ok so I've been reading more about the whole Jeremy Lin - Knicks - Rockets saga and one of the main sticking points is obviously the whole "poison pill" exception which Houston took advantage of where for some reason New York has to pay Lin $15 million in his third year but Houston can average out his deal at $8 million over the 3 years. Can someone explain to me the logic behind this? I get that Houston can average out the deal, but why is that allowed when New York has to abide by the whole $5 million - $5 million - $15 million structure?