Alright so I rewatched the game and here's what I take away: - Lin is a high level bench player. If you have him on your team, he needs to control the ball on the floor. He's not good enough to carry your team on either side of the floor all season long, but he's good enough to change/affect the game for stretches of games. - I'd take him back for a back-up PG salary whatever that is. If there's a team willing to pay him over 20 million dollars, they're welcome to do it. I'm not going to pay him more than 20 million. - He's a willing defender, just not a great one. If you keep him motivated he's a hard worker, but keeping him motivated isn't always easy. He's a bit of a headcase. As we saw earlier in the year he can sometimes use religion as a crutch. - I think he and Clarkson are similar players, but they worked well together offensively. If Lin can play with Clarkson then he should certainly be able to play with Kobe (or another ball dominant guard). They were active defensively, but not all that effective. My final takeaway- I don't like him. I think he's too willing to accept a losing situation as one that he himself cannot change. I think he's a competitor though and that's enough to give him a spot on my team but only or the right price.
I loved reading about that story that came out a day or so ago about Kobe texting Lin at 1am earlier this year telling Lin that he should be/better be pissed at how this year is going.
I hope we sign Lin. I really do, but to a 4 year/20 million type deal. I think that's fair. I read that piece ESPN released and it was really good and gave a lot of insight into the man. He lives next to the beach and seems to really like the LA lifestyle. Kobe going down was literally a godsend for a multitude of reasons. Clarkson got to develop, Lin got to stop being a punching bag and we started losing... a lot. Enough to keep that pick. Here's the thing I find funny. I remember back on CL that when we traded for Lin, we were excited, and we basically all ripped on Harden and Coward for treating Lin like their personal punching bag and ruining him. He comes here and Kobe does essentially the same thing and we all get pissed at Lin and want to send him a care package of Monistat and Midol. Kobe has really been a poor leader the last couple seasons. A strong leader learns how to press buttons the correct way. Kobe took the Harden/Coward approach on Lin. An approach that didn't work at all. Then we stuffed Lin into an offense that is just about the worst possible fit for him. I encourage everyone to read the ESPN article in it's entirety. At first I thought it was going to come off as an excuse piece. But he takes ownership of the struggles and I really think he's not weak willed, he just needs to be pushed the right way. I'll be honest, there aren't many people that could handle Kobe (a self described a--hole) barking at them all the time.
Haven't read the piece but honestly I don't care about his feelings. He was given a great opportunity here and before the All-star break he completely choked. Kobe got on him for good reason. In Houston he was bashed for all the wrong reasons. He was asked to be an All-star and to be Linsanity and to be a lock down defender and to be a distributor to Harden and to get out of the way of Harden and Howard. Here we asked him to lead and he shrunk. We didnt ask for a star we asked for a solid player. Is it too much to ask a talented kid like him to be Derek Fisher-esque? He deserved the hate in my opinion. I know that's harsh but like Kobe said: you've got the best franchise in the game behind you, the best fans, the best support system you can find... if you screw it up its on you.
I disagree. I think Kobe was just as guilty. But I'm not really willing to argue over it. I don't have a high opinion of Kobe over the last few years. I'm in the minority and am not in the mood to fight most everyone on the board.
I guess I disagree with both of you because I am pro-Lin and pro-Kobe Personalities aside, Kobe likes to play a certain way and so does Lin. Their styles do not mesh well. Lin comes off the bench and problem solved.
Kobe's leadership method is not meant for everyone, but we can't argue with the results it's produced. I do hope he does re-signs, too.
http://www.silverscreenandroll.com/2015/4/30/8466405/la-lakers-jeremy-lin-season-review For the right price and the right role (bench player), I'd definitely bring him back.
I don't think you can bring a guy back after treating him so poorly. There was a whole period of time there when Byron Scott basically made it clear there was no place for Lin in our gameplan. Now what? Changesies mindsies?
What gameplan? The majority of our roster was made up of players on 1 year deals. Not exactly a stable situation. Lin was brought here partially because we could get a 1st round pick from Houston. If Lin showed that he could be valuable in some way going forward, then it's a cherry on top. Lin knew the situation when he came here. I doubt he holds a grudge.
Honestly if anyone holds a grudge after that season, then I don't know if they're strong enough mentally to stay here anyway. I can understand if a player felt uncomfortable here and wanted a fresh start, but a grudge? Nah. Every player on this team got a fair shake. Lin was our de facto leader a lot of the time after the All-Star break. He got a chance to show his stuff and get his next contract. I wouldn't mind him back but only at the right price and only off the bench. He and Davis had very good chemistry in the pick and roll. I think that'd be a great fit for him, but he might still believe he's a starting PG and could go chase those opportunities elsewhere. He's not built for the pressure of being the Lakers' starting PG. That's alright. He reminds me really of Sessions: it's okay if you're not built to lead the pack, but I'm down if you wanna lead the bench.
At least Lakers teammates picked him up off the floor when he crashed, not like the tools in Houston.
Draft Towns, bring back Lin+Davis+ a quality SF for the rest of cap space. My sommehow realistic off season plan.
As do I for the right pice. 4/16 or 4/20 at most isn't a bad price for a pg who can play a bit at sg as well. Especially if we to draft Mudiay. Having a guard trio of Clarkson/Mudiay/Lin is not bad at all.
Don't let the post all star break, the oh s*** I need to start playing for a contract Lin fool you guys. It's time for him to channel his inner Billy Joel...
