The well-intentioned rule is having unexpected consequences. The Rockets cannot outbid the Knicks, but because they are under the cap, they are permitted to give Lin a balloon payment — a so-called poison pill — in the third year of his deal. Houston originally set that figure at $9.3 million and then increased it to $14.98 million, close to the maximum allowed. For cap purposes, Lin’s three-year salary would count as an average for Houston, or $8.4 million a year. But the Knicks would be charged the full amount in 2014-15, costing them $50 million to $60 million in a combination of salary and luxury taxes, rival executives said.