No matter how ugly the 2014-15 NBA season has turned out for Jeremy Lin, former NY Times writer and current Bleacher report analyst Howard Beck still believes there will be takers for the Asian-American star next summer. As a matter of fact, he can still save his career.
Lin, who is the midst of his worst statistical year since he landed a three-year, $25 million contract with the Houston Rockets, is widely expected to bolt out from the Lakers at the end of the season and hit the market as an unrestricted free-agency.
Averaging 10.4 points and 4.7 assists per game, the market will be a little drier for Lin compared to the last time he tested the free-agency waters, but still Beck believes Lin, at 26-year old, has still the upside to be an attractive free-agent target next summer.
"At 26, Lin is still young enough to have an upside, and he's driven to keep improving. This isn't the first time he's hit a roadblock. As a freshman at Harvard, things got so bad that Lin's mother pulled transfer papers at one point. But Lin stuck it out and became an Ivy League star. The same pattern has played out in the NBA."
Despite putting up his worst production in three years, his averages with the Lakers aren't shabby for a bench player that logs just 25 minutes per game and has to deal with inconsistent minutes from Lakers head coach Byron Scott.
The Philadelphia 76ers and the Golden State Warriors have been rumored as potential suitors for Lin, but Beck pointed out that the Rockets, the team that traded him along with a first-round pick to Los Angeles in last offseason, are still high on him.
"But the Rockets needed salary-cap room last July to make a frenzied, all-out bid for Chris Bosh. So they offloaded Lin's hefty contract, along with a first-round pick, to the Lakers. It was purely a bookkeeping move. The Rockets remain high on Lin and are expected to be among his chief suitors this summer."
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