If I had to read the tea leaves, I'd say that he's having a hard time with the uncertainty of knowing he'll probably be dealt, but not knowing where (better situation vs worse situation).
If by chance we strike out on Melo and Kevin Love, they will probably keep Lin. Not because they like him, but because they could get a lot more for him (his expiring contract really) at the trade deadline. His contract could help land us the piece we need or want then.
I assume we will have to add a DMo or 2nd round pick to move Lin, and Morey doesn't want to do this unless it absolutely nets him that big FA.
Forgot where I read this, but I remember seeing something saying the Rockets actually expect to receive a second for Lin. Since we watch him every game, it is easy for our homer goggles to work in reverse when he is playing poorly. There doesn't seem to be much middle-ground here when it comes to Lin, you either love him or hate him. In reality, while he is a bit overpaid, he really isn't that unattractive of a trade asset. 36% 3 point shooter...scoring 12.5ppg and 4 assist/g isn't horrible off the bench. At the end of the day, the ridiculous fan base he brings in should generate enough revenue to make up for the fact that he is overpaid. I can definitely see a small market team making a move for Lin. He'll get you some solid production, draw a ton of interest from the media, and, assuming the team is a bottom feeder, he'll never have to play in a huge moment so there isn't too much risk of choking .
1. I think that was the article by John Feign 2. Anytime you make a trade, you have to get something back. Short of trading him for a star, we HAVE to take back a pick. The question then becomes how protected said pick is. 3. There is no doubt we will be getting some type of pick back. The real question or concern rather, is how much do we we have to cough up to get someone to take an overpaid, mediocre PG. 4. Generated revenue really depends on the Asian population and influence the market he is going to has. 5. Lots of people have found middle ground with Lin. We have lots of Rockets fans that like Lin for who he actually is. The problem is that LoF's (some reasonable ones do) do not accept middle ground. He has to be great and being held back by teammates, coaches, and management, instead of being the mediocre PG that he is.
Why can't the warriors send back a second round pick or something like that? The Rockets didn't get back salary in the Asik trade. I just got caught up myself on this trade rumor. Warriors let Steve Blake and Toney Douglas go. They have strong needs at backup PG, backup SG, and reliable bench scoring -- all things which Lin, at least on his good days, can provide some help with. For those interested, a sports writer for the San Jose Mercury News, a respected local paper in Bay Area, said this on his blog a few days ago. I'm still skeptical, but it seems like this rumor has at least a whiff of reality. "The Warriors, per a league source, have informed the Houston they would consider acquiring Lin from the Rockets via trade. Houston is reportedly shopping Lin in case they need to create cap space for Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James. The Warriors have a $9.8 million trade exception leftover from the trade that sent Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson’s expiring contract to Utah. Though Lin is scheduled to make $14.9 million, only $8.37 will count against the salary cap. That means the Warriors can absorb Lin’s contract without giving up any players. Nothing is imminent, the source said. It’s one of many options the Warriors are weighing. It should be noted, the players the Warriors would prefer more is Chandler Parsons. But with no back-up guards under contract outside of Nemanja Nedovic, the Warriors could really use Lin. They not only need a back-up for Stephen Curry, they need someone who can get to the basket. Lin’s strength is penetrating and finishing. He’s also developed into a steady outside shooter. Last season, Lin shot 35.8 percent from the field and had a true shooting percentage of 57.2, both career-highs. With New York and Houston, Lin has proven he can play the point guard position. So it stands to reason he is more than capable of filling in for Curry."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Nothing concrete at all, but some around NBA wonder if Jazz will take on salary dumps from Rockets (Jeremy Lin) or Bulls (Carlos Boozer).</p>— Jody Genessy (@DJJazzyJody) <a href="https://twitter.com/DJJazzyJody/statuses/483710114226917376">June 30, 2014</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
I understand that amnestying Boozer isn't ideal from a financial point of view, but when you have to surrender legitimate assets (like first rounder+; see Warriors last year) to avoid the amnesty route, I begin to wonder how serious you are about putting the best product on the court.
I agree, I think the bulls lack of willingness to spend will be a deterrent in their FA hunt. Rockets have repeatedly said they are willing to spend and will do so as long as they are contenders - could be a major selling point in FA meetings.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>The Magic now have immense cap room and no one at the PG spot besides Elfrid Payton. Could be a nice landing spot for Jeremy Lin. <a class="hashtag" action="hash" title="#Rockets">#Rockets</a></p>— David Weiner (@BimaThug) <a href="https://twitter.com/BimaThug/status/483708509780205568" data-datetime="2014-06-30T20:27:50+00:00">June 30, 2014</a></blockquote> <script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
If Morey doesn't land one of the FA targets, he not only may not want to trade Lin for cap space, he likely shouldn't, and won't, trade Asik for cap space, either. Remember, the Asik deal won't be done until the end of the July moratorium, so it can be restructured to include a third team up to that time. If we don't have any FA to use the cap space on, Morey may well be better off turning that deal into a 3 team trade where Asik goes to NOP and some player on an expiring contract comes to Houston. This way, Morey would preserve the ability to make a big $ in-season trade using some large expiring contracts to match the $ figures.
I know you were only half serious here (since Jameer was just waived and won't cost much) but I wouldn't replace Lin with Nelson. Everything we do from this point forward is contingent upon Morey's search for a 3rd star, FA point guard, and/or 3&D wing player. But even if he doesn't accomplish his goals, he will keep Lin rather than replace him with someone like Jameer Nelson. Morey is a sabermetrician and likes stats. As the stats below will show, Lin is the perfect backup PG/SG for this team; a much better fit than Jameer Nelson: Name…..PPG*….FG%*...3ptFG%*....Ast*..…TO…..PER**….eFG%***..TS%***......DRPM****........DefRtg***…..ORPM****….WAR****…..+/- (season) Jlin……...12.5….…44.6….….35.8…..…..4.1…….2.5….14.31……..50.8…….57.2……..+0.28 (17th of 86 PGs) …..102.0…........-0.20…….....+3.19…...…...+2.4 JNelson…12.1…..39.8……..34.8…..…..7.0…….2.4….13.89….…..48.5…….51.5……..-1.90 (54th of 86 PGs) …...108.6…........+2.79….....…+4.29...…..…-4.0 I know Lin is frustrating (I am not suggesting that you feel this way about Lin) but I wouldn't replace him until someone better becomes available. And I doubt Morey, a sabermetrician, will move Lin for a PG that can't play defense. It took time for Lin and Beverely to do it but they've developed a nice chemistry on defense. As a defender, Lin is no Beverley (whose DRPM is +1.29, 6th best among the 86 PGs in the league, and a very nice DefRtg of 101.8) but he is a capable backup for Beverley and Harden. Clearly, Nelson is not. Replacing Lin with Nelson would leave us with a ackcourt combination of Nelson (DRPM = -1.90), Daniels (DRPM = -1,51), Canaan (DRPM = -3.06) and James Harden (-2.84). That won't work. Better off keeping Lin. *http://stats.nba.com/leaguePlayerGe...&PlayerPosition=G&sortField=PTS&sortOrder=DES ** http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/2439/jameer-nelson; http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/4299/jeremy-lin ***http://stats.nba.com/leaguePlayerGe...mnOrder=&MeasureType=Advanced&PerMode=PerGame **** http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/rpm/_/sort/DRPM/position/1
they will want some sweetener probably and a steep one at that..unless they a really just want LIN. Lin's homecoming.
There are reasons beyond $ to go the trade route vs. amnesty. Specifically, amnesty may not give CHI enough cap space to pursue Melo without sacrificing multiple other rotation players. Meanwhile, if they find a taker like Utah for Boozer, they can structure a deal as a 3 team sign and trade where CHI gives up some assets to Utah and some to NYK with Melo going to CHI on a full max deal for him. Either route will require CHI to give up assets so it is a matter of which costs less.
