Before the start of the free agency in the NBA, Jeremy Lin was reportedly being eyed by seven teams. Three of them appeared to be determined to get the services of the 26-year-old point guard to bolster their respective guard rotation for the next NBA season. The three teams were reportedly the Dallas Mavericks, the Denver Nuggets, and the Indiana Pacers.
Late last month, two of his former teams, the Golden State Warriors, and the Houston Rockets, have reportedly expressed interest to acquire Jeremy Lin from the free agency as well.
So when the free agency market opened, it came as a surprise that not one of the seven teams really made serious offers to Jeremy Lin. It nearly took more than a week after in the free agency before the Harvard graduate finally got a palatable offer and said yes to it.
But the surprise of it all is that it was not from any of the teams that were previously mentioned in past reports but an entirely new one – the Charlotte Hornets.
Apparently, Lin decided to sign with the Hornets when he was offered a two-year contract reportedly worth $4.3 million, a far cry from his $25 million three-year contract signed with the Houston Rockets during the 2012-13 season and assumed by the Los Angeles Lakers on the third and final year during the past NBA season.
Backup point guard
According to the Charlotte Observer, the addition of Jeremy Lin as backup point guard to the Hornets will upgrade the team’s second unit and star power.
The outlet believes that Lin will fit in with the Hornets better than Lance Stephenson did in the past season and at a very reasonable price too.
Jeremy Lin, who is known more for spawning “Linsanity” when he was still playing for the New York Knicks during the 2011-12 season, is a good offensive player. His career average of 11.7 points per game can very well attest to that. Hornets coach Steve Clifford can work on his defensive skills, which does not speak highly of him.
The Hornets need scorers on its roster because the team plans to put more points in the scoreboard for next season. Hornets GM understands that the team will be sacrificing its defense in part if they focus so much on offense, but he is confident that the coaching staff will address the trade off in great detail.
Lin played as a starter for the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Lakers, but he proved ineffective. He is better coming off the bench, which the Hornets fully understand. He will play behind Charlotte’s starting point guard Kemba Walker.
Happy with his decision
After officially signing with the Charlotte Hornets on July 9, Jeremy Lin took to Instagram and posted ‘Lets goooo! BuzzCity!’ referring to the sound hornets normally make. His post also comes with the logo of the Charlotte Hornets, details the San Jose Mercury News.
Lin hopes to make a rebound from his less-than-expected performance during the past NBA season while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. He averaged a respectable 11.2 points and 4.6 assists in 74 games last season, but it was certainly below par vis-à-vis his $8.5 million per year contract.
In signing Jeremy Lin for the next two NBA seasons, the Charlotte Hornets is not actually making him as the team’s savior to lead them to the NBA championship.
While he is a good player, he is not a great one and certainly does not have the superstar talent to be consistent in leading his team to victory night in and night out. He did show some semblance of brilliance in leading his team to victory when he played marvelously for the New York Knicks over four years ago in the absence of star forward Carmelo Anthony.
It was during that stretch of excellent playing for 17 consecutive games that earned for him the moniker “Linsanity.”
Great move by him..still young…will develop his game quietly…become a great point guard…then get a starting role with a contender…smart move by Lin
Jeremy has gotten much better since his Linsanity days — more offensive weapons, better handle, and better defense. The difference with his last 2 teams is his role and playing style. He will be great as the floor general floor for the second unit. And chances are, like in LA, the second unit can often outscore the first unit.
Its hard to understand why Lin has not been able to put up numbers like he did with the Knicks. We could probably chalk up much of his early success to the fact that he was not very well known and defended, but on the other hand, he has gained a lot more experience since then. I’m hoping that his problems have been mostly mental and that he’ll get past that and really shine with the Hornets.
He just happened to be thrown in and told to “play” his game with teammates that were unselfish. That doesn’t happen in the NBA normally.
Those stars won’t align again.
What a steal….2m/yr:
Lin 25.8min 42.4% 36.9% 79.5% 0.4 2.3 2.6 4.6 1.1 0.4 2.2 2.6 11.2
Kemba: 34.2min 38.5% 30.4% 82.7% 0.6 3 3.5 5.1 1.4 0.5 1.6 1.5 17.3
good for Hornets. Lin is no superstar and I wouldn’t put him on my all-star team. But he is a solid player who can be good if he is surrounded by the right coaching with a system that fits. He excel in NY because the DAntoni system was a good fit for him.
That was before the big guy return from injury to hog the ball. Jeremy is a very versatle unselfish player. With an unselfish team, Lisanity can return.
This is a confusing and difficult times for J Lin fans..
Playing in a small market like Charlott will not give Lin the exposures he needed for rebound. Sub 20 minutes per night will almost sure he stays at NBA basement…
Playing as backup PG in a small market NBA team is where veteran players comes to retired, not prosper…I wish him well, but I think its a wrong choice.
Dallas would be a much better team for Lin.
He wasn’t able to do the things that he did when he was in NYC because he was never in charge of the ball in his last two teams the superstars were. When he played in NYC there were no superstars but it was a team where others shined like Novak, Chandler, Shumpert, fields, heck even JR smith was dishing great assist but after Carmelo came back they lost the mojo. In Houston admit it or not he was again playing second fiddle to Harden and was given a very short lease and it doesn’t matter if he plays good or bad he is benched. It doesn’t make sense sometimes when you watch some if his games in Houston he would get so hot one shot after the other and then suddenly benched. You don’t believe me find it in YouTube. The Mavericks would’ve been a better team for him.
He sucks. He was given an opportunity in LA and Houston. His shooting accuracy was the big problem, which he hasn’t improved at all.