The Los Angeles Lakers were unable to make the big splash they hoped for in free agency, but the team was able to trade for point guard Jeremy Lin from the Houston Rockets. The trade netted the Lakers a solid point guard, as well as a first-round pick.
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Lin’s play has been inconsistent this season, leading him to lose his starting job though he remains a major part of the rotation. As an unrestricted free agent this summer, many assume Lin will not return to the Lakers and according to Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck, Lin’s former team is expected to be very interested:
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.
A return to the Rockets would be an interesting move for Lin if that were to be the case as they have little backcourt depth behind their starter Patrick Beverley. Coincidentally, Beverley is also an unrestricted free agent this summer.
For the Lakers, it is clear that Lin isn’t the point guard of the future and they are now committed to seeing what they have in rookie Jordan Clarkson. If Clarkson isn’t the player, the Lakers can still upgrade the position in a number of ways. The draft has major prospects in Emmanuel Mudiay and D’Angelo Russell, while free agency boasts talents such as Rajon Rondo and Reggie Jackson.
[divide]Jeremy Lin Thinks Lakers Play Too Much One On One