The dude isn't actually a backup PG. He's a solid starter who reminds everyone each time this team spazzes out.
lin's situation isnt bad at all right now. contending team, close knit team, 30+ mins playing time, etc. as long as he's involved when he is on the court, he'll be happy. there's no reason to leave.
Lin isn't really being used as a backup point guard. Even ignoring the injuries that have had him starting more than half his games he is playing way more minutes than a backup PG would. If you are going to trade him, you need something more than a dime-a-dozen player back.
Teams might hesitate because of the balloon payment on Asik, but Lin? He easily pays for himself 10x over on the money front. To get full value on Asik, Morey may need to include Lin as a package deal to make balloon payment on Asik's contract a non-issue. Of course, Les Alexander would probably have something to say about that unless the trade is really really good...
GMs don't value recent productions. They don't care if you've ever recorded a triple double. In the general scheme, Jeremy's values is unchanged since 2012 and probably won't change unless he gains all-star status or accomplishes something great in the playoffs. His descriptions on GM's books will look like this: Key points - 25yo Asian-American - scoring point-guard - average shooter/passer - average to poor defence - knee surgery 2012 Scouting report - effective driver - quick first step - turnover prone - inconsistent production In-depth Analysis - potential to diversify market - coach-able - non-confrontational - 45/35/75 Comparably, he is a hybrid of Jose Calderon and Mike Conely.
Translation: I didn't watch the Rockets pre-2012 or Lowry, Dragic, and AB (MIP) at any stages of their careers
Pretty sure we're going to trade Asik before we trade Lin, you guys aren't wrong with your speculation with Lin's production vs his contract BUT it's not his fault he's not able to play to his strengths. When he was dominating in NY and here Harden was always either having an extremely off game or not dominating the ball. Lin NEEDS the ball to be effective but out of Harden and Lin, Harden is the better player. I don't personally see Lin getting traded right now because we need him off the bench. If we do end up trading him though, it will be sometime next year before the trade deadline.
Putting that first is an insult to Lin. Remember, emphasizing his marketability completely ignores the fact that he's legitimately good.
Why would we? He's one of the main reasons why this team works. We have 3 ball handlers (nearly 4 with Jones) at any given time. We're a "run to the other side of the court as fast as you can" offense so we need Parsons to create openings/hit 3's and especially help out on the perimeter offense. What we need now is a lock down defender who can hit the 3 (see Thabo Sefolosha). I bet we would win more consistently if Harden/Jones decided to show up defensively (preferably on daily basis).
Fans here forget the marketing and publicity side on Lin, NBA is a business. His productivity on court surely doesn't match his contract. But les already made a bunch money off court. Chinese , Taiwanese, Asian Americans......Probably Lin is in some terms cheaper than u think
Appealing to Asia wasn't the original reason Les Alexander wanted him. Lin was brought in for equal parts his game, and to keep national spotlight on the Rockets during the rebuilding process.
Agreed. But here we are talking about the money he got paid, is he worth 8 million?...on court, hell no. Off court, hard to say.
Lin isn't overpaid for what he does. He's worth the money. However, the expectations of him vary more widely than anyone else, and it's a large confounding factor when making an accurate evaluation.
One confirmed locked improvement from lin is his balling handling with his left hand and ability to finish with it. In the last 3 games . Quite remarkable
**** lowry wasn't even a superstar PG yet demanded superstar treatment by having McHale fired, LOWRY IS THE TRUE MCHATER!!!!!! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!??! DWIGHT?!?! But seriously Dragic and Lowry playing at allstar levels, hope Lin can develop to such a level
Well, if GMs paid more attention and did their homework for every single NBA prospect, then Lin wouldn't get passed off by Dallas, GS, Houston and NY... People tend to forget how good he really was during linsanity or "best NBA backcourt", and simply degrade his abilities over-time because of headliners on getting benched, poor playoff performance and getting replaced by Bev.
Do you think they gradually improved their game, or the Rockets were just holding them back the entire time by giving the better player more minutes.