Once Carmelo Anthony and LeBron James were no longer options for the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency this summer, the storied franchise immediately turned to second tier options. The first move made was acquiring point guard Jeremy Lin along with a pair of draft picks from the Houston Rockets.
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Initially, many questioned the move to acquire Lin following the 2013-14 NBA season. Lin failed to make an impression in Houston after having a breakout season with the New York Knicks in 2012. Although Lin is a California native with a loyal fan base, the 26-year-old’s future in Los Angeles is uncertain. Lin is the last year of his deal and will become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Recently, Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports made an appearance on The Beast 980 and said the following about what he believe the immediate future holds for the Harvard product:
“I think this Lin is a one-year player with the Lakers. He’s a backup point guard in the NBA. He’s obviously be thrust into a bigger role because of who they have [on the Lakers roster], with the injuries and with Steve Nash being out for the year. You can see that Lin’s confidence is not there. There’s not a great chemistry between Kobe and Lin, that’s obvious.”
With Lin struggling with his consistency on both ends of the floor so far this season, the Lakers may elect to simply let him walk in free agency or trade him before the NBA trade deadline in February.
On Thursday, Kobe Bryant was seen having breakfast with perennial All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo in Boston fueling the fire of a potential blockbuster trade. The Lakers will face the Boston Celtics on Friday night in a matchup between two teams that many believe will be in the draft lottery next summer.
Rondo is arguably the biggest name on the trading block right now with the consensus being he’ll be playing elsewhere next season. Boston could elect to trade the one-time NBA champion before the deadline with no assurance he’ll re-sign with the team in July.
The Lakers have been rumored to be interested in acquiring Rondo’s services, but if they don’t pull off a trade, they’ll definitely make a run at him in free agency come July.
As of right now, Jordan Hill is arguably the best trade chip the Lakers have with the veteran forward/center in the midst of a career-year in Los Angeles. Lin could get thrown into a trade package along with Hill to get Rondo, but has yet to be mentioned in any trade scenarios.
[divide]Kobe And Jeremy Lin Have Differing Opinion On Playing Mad