Point taken, but soccer is a different sport. Basketball is a sport that depends on physical attributes [height] more than anything. When you are 6'6'' and playing center you are going to have a lot of problems on the world stage, no matter how skilled you are. Also baseball is pretty big in Taiwan but not significantly bigger than basketball. But this is getting OT.
Taken from another article.... "Morey had to find ways to improve the Rockets without spending money. “We couldn’t afford another superstar,” he says, “so we went looking for nonsuperstars that we thought were undervalued.” He went looking, essentially, for underpaid players. “That’s the scarce resource in the N.B.A.,” he says. “Not the superstar but the undervalued player.” " Basically, Jeremy Lin is exactly the type of player that Morey would want to sign: An undervalued and underpaid player. Sure, him being Asian definitely helps, but like many of Morey's deals thus far; he is a low risk, potentially high reward pick.
Maybe it's population and maybe it's environment. People from islands or half peninsulas are usually not that tall especially Asians. I agree this is getting out of context. Never mind.
And the Rockets resigned Hasheem Thabeet to market to all the Africans since we don't have Hakeem around anymore. Sheesh. Lin: High School- According to Dana O'Neil of ESPN, "... Lin was the runaway choice for player of the year by virtually every California publication..." College- Kerry Keating, the UCLA assistant who offered Lin the opportunity to walk-on, would say in hindsight that Lin would probably have ended up starting at point guard for UCLA. Fran Fraschilla of ESPN picked Lin among the 12 most versatile players in college basketball. Bottom line- the guy is better than most of you think. Is the fact that he's Asian a plus for the Rockets? Sure but they could've signed Sun or Yi or Wang if having a token is all that they wanted. Lin can ball. Great pickup!
That's lost on most people, recruiting isn't what it use to be and the fact that he wasn't what most colleges look for ended up in him going to Harvard. He's an all around solid player and I think he can make the roster.
I agree. I think he's got the talent to stick with a team at this level. I'm just not sure he can on the Rockets with our PG situation being so crowded. Hope we trade on of the other PG's not named Lowry. Lol
Hey, Jermaine Taylor got an 8 page thread, and he couldn't even pass his physical. Although I think Lin's probably not NBA material, he's pretty fun to watch play in the proud tradition of Ish Smith, JLIII, and even, dare I say it, Matt Maloney as scrub PGs who have such obvious deficiencies in their games, you cheer for them like an overprotective parent. Also, assuming they kept the NBDL rules intact in the new CBA, remember that the last 3 players the Rockets cut from their training camp will have their rights controlled by the RGV Vipers. Since it's pretty clear the Rockets put a high priority on making their NBDL team as strong as possible, getting a PG with ANY NBA experience is huge for that team.
Lin did well in the D-League last season, so is at least a potential RGV contributor. Remember watching him in summer league, when he impressed enough people to get that contract offer. He's more physical than athletic. One of those guys that doesn't mind contact. Maybe a poor man's version of Kyle Lowry?
I'm from the Bay Area and am also a Warriors fan. He's a fan favorite and he can really ball if given the opportunity. His work ethic is terrific and he fits that category of being a hustler and hard-worker. Not sure what he'd do for us though with us already being 3 deep at the point.
I think two of the big reasons for Rockets signing him: 1. he is cheap, his 2nd year non-guaranteed contract is only $800k, he will be a 3rd guard from the bench; 2. he can play solid defense, and he plays hard.
Kyle Lowry is one of the best defensive PG's in the league. Jeremy Lin isn't better than him at anything. With that said, I LOVE ME SOME JEREMY LINNNNNNN!
here is a video about A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JEREMY LIN. hey atleast he has good work ethics... <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/CLzrLXQIbwM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Kyle plays more physical defense, but Lin plays better positional defense, e.g., more anticipation of where the offensive player goes.
By claiming Lin off waiver, Houston assumes his existing contract of $800K this season, slightly above year two minimum. Read that Golden State promised to resign him after 48 hours waiver period if no teams claimed him, so much for that. GS waived him for cap space so they could offer DeAndre Jordan, not gonna happen, Clippers will match. Interestingly, Lin said a while back he liked Dragic's game and compared his style of play to him. Dragic may be quicker but Lin is more physical and plays better D.
I'm surprised there's still people who keep insisting that Jeremy is only Taiwanese and not of Chinese descent. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ARFmtP8tzms" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/NRg-_j1n5zM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
