Lin seeking 'home' after 5 teams in 6 seasons
After bouncing around the NBA for much of his career, free agent Jeremy Lin hopes to find a place to call home this summer.
“I’ve played six years in the NBA; I’ve played on five different teams. I’ve played for two D-League teams — so seven cities in six years. I’m tired of boxes, I’m tired of moving companies, and I want to find a home,” Lin said in an interview with the World Economic Forum over the weekend.
Lin, who turns 28 in August, averaged 11.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3 assists in 26.3 minutes per game last season with the Charlotte Hornets. Lin signed a two-year, $4.3 million contract with Charlotte last July, but the contract contained an early termination option that Lin triggered to explore free agency.
Another factor in free agency for Lin? Finding the team that can help him reach his full potential, he says.
“I want to see how good I can become,” Lin said. “I’m 27, and an athlete’s prime, or at least in the NBA, your prime is usually 27-30. That’s when you kind of peak physically (and) mentally and that’s where most players perform their best. So I’m going into my prime and I want to see how great I can be as a player, and that’s my purpose in free agency — so I’ll just exhaust every opportunity to see which one will be the best for me.”
Lin was featured as a backup last season in Charlotte. He said after the season that he would certainly consider a return to the Hornets this summer.
Lin signed a three-year, $25 million contract with the Houston Rockets after the Linsanity craze with the New York Knicks in 2012, when he emerged from the end of the Knicks’ bench to become an international star.
The Rockets traded Lin to the Los Angeles Lakers prior to the final year of his contract, and he signed with Charlotte in the 2015 offseason.
During the interview, Lin was asked if he’d consider a return to the Knicks, who will have at least $30 million to spend in free agency.
“It’s not looking likely, because they just traded for Derrick Rose,” Lin said. “But I will say that ever since I left, I’ve always been open to going back and I still am. Never say never, that’s the one thing in the NBA, never say never. So I’ve always been open, but right now, I’m not sure if it’s the best timing. But if it happens, it happens.”
Information from ESPN’s Chris Forsberg was used in this report.
