Coming off a stellar season with the Charlotte Hornets, Jeremy Lin is hoping to cash in on his improved play with a new contract this summer. According to Cleveland.com's Chris Haynes, Lin has declined his player option with the Hornets and will enter free agency as an unrestricted free agent.
This is rather unsurprising as Lin outplayed the two-year, $4.3M deal he signed with the Hornets last summer. When he signed with Charlotte, Lin was coming off a lackluster season with the Lakers and needed to find a situation where the team believed in him and put him in the right position to succeed. And Lin did just that in Charlotte, becoming an excellent off-the-bench combo guard, averaging 11.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and three assists in 26.3 minutes a game. Lin will surely earn a large contract this summer; the question though is how much will a team actually be willing to pay him. He is not truly a starting point guard and is not a strong defender. But teams will definitely be interested in Lin, especially since he is a solid, dependable reserve guard.
So where will he end up? A reunion in New York will reportedly not happen, but CBS Sports Matt Moore has some ideas:
Analysis: Jeremy Lin's career is as complicated as it is debatable. After Linsanity he was "fine" in Houston, then "bad" in L.A. with the Lakers. Then he wound up in Charlotte last season and was straight-up great. Lin has excellent vision and play-making ability, can finish at the rim and hit 3s at a decent-but-not-great rate (34 percent). He's excellent as a change-of-pace backup point guard who can not only make plays but has learned how to run an offense. He developed patience in the half court and has excellent instincts for the game. You can trust him with the ball. Defensively, he has physical limitations, but he also will dig down and disrupt handles and passing lanes. He plays well in a team concept and by all accounts is coachable. Lin is terrific value in this market and the second-best backup point guard available. If you wind up with Lin starting, your offense is going to survive.
Good fit with: Charlotte, New York, Dallas, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia
Free agency starts on July 1, and while Lin may not be the No. 1 option for most teams, he will likely be fielding a few quality offers. Something he earned the right to do with his stellar play last season.
