Now that the regular season is already over, every lottery-bound team in the NBA is seriously preparing for the off season, looking to make waves at the free agency market.
The Los Angeles Lakers is one of the teams that are expected to make a big splash in the free agency market with reports that the Showtime franchise will be going after the likes of Rajon Rondo of the Dallas Mavericks and Kevin Love of the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The plan has obviously reinforced previous notions that Jeremy Lin is already on the way out of the Lakers franchise considering that he did not live up to fan and management expectation after the team got him from the Houston Rockets last year on the third and final year of his $25 million contract.
Despite showing some form of mild brilliance and a bit of consistency after the NBA All-Star break in February, Jeremy Lin was nowhere near the expectations that the Lakers management or the fans of the Showtime franchise placed on him. Everyone was looking for him to showcase and relive back with the Lakers his Linsanity days when he was still with the New York Knicks some four years ago.
But as it turned out, even during the absence of Kobe Bryant because of a knee surgery, Lin was not able to come out of his so-called shell and was basically an average player, not a go-to-guy that the Lakers needed at a time when the Black Mamba was out of commission.
After the regular season ended, Jeremy Lin was already aware that he will not be re-signed by the Lakers that is why he tweeted on April 16 and thanked all the Los Angeles fans for the warm support they have given him during his one-year stint with the purple and gold team.
Possibility of re-signing
However, there are reports coming out that Jordan Clarkson, the promising point guard of the Lakers, who showed occasional brilliance at the tail end of the regular season, will be traded by the Showtime franchise during the off-season.
There are also reports coming out that Lakers will also be dealing talented off guard and small forward Nick Young during the off-season, notes Sports World Report.
Now that Steve Nash is officially retired, doing away with Jordan Clarkson at the point and Nick Young at the off-guard would leave the Lakers a gaping hole in the point guard spot with Ronnie Price possibly the only one to remain.
So the Lakers would actually be pinning its hope on getting from the free agency Rajon Rondo because Kobe Bryant really wants him badly. But what if Rondo does not commit, the way he did after signing with the Dallas Mavericks despite initial attempts late last year by Bryant to lure him into the Lakers’ fold?
When that happens, the Lakers would have no choice but to re-sign Jeremy Lin as its back-up plan. Whether Lin agrees to become the Lakers convenient fall-back for its off-season dealings or not is another story.