Lin’s tenure as a Laker could be officially over.
The Los Angeles Lakers acquired Jeremy Lin before this season in exchange for a first-round draft pick from the Houston Rockets. Lin has played in 74 games for the Lakers this season.
With only three games left in the regular season for the Lakers, and being that Lin has been out for the last two games with a sore left knee, it’s likely that we have seen the last of Jeremy Lin in a Laker uniform.
From Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times:
He wants to finish out the season, all three games that remain, but free agency is just over the horizon for the team’s second-highest paid player.
Lin has been in and out of the starting lineup in his only season with the Lakers, averaging 11.2 points while shooting 42.4%, numbers slightly below his career averages. …
An MRI exam on Lin’s knee showed a cartilage abnormality that was not considered serious. The abnormality was consistent with post-surgery results from a knee procedure Lin had in 2012. He was listed as day-to-day by the team.
Scott declined to discuss Lin’s future with the Lakers, with good reason.
Lin was the highest paid player on the Laker roster this season. Aside from Houston’s first-round pick, it was also lucrative for the Lakers to acquire Lin’s contract since it expired after this season.
The Lakers admittedly would have liked to trade Lin at one point, but the market was too weak. While Lin might have been excited to play in Los Angeles initially, it’s been the worst season in the franchise’s history, making this season more of a wash than anything else. Byron Scott isn’t crazy about his players and in Lin’s case, a fresh start in free agency would probably be best for all parties.
