Jeremy Lin (Photo : Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports/ Reuters)
Jeremy Lin topped the poll conducted by Turner Sports to determine who among incoming free-agents on current the Los Angeles Lakers roster they want the most to return for next season, TWC released the survey's results on Saturday.
Lin, averaging 11.3 points and 4.6 assists in 25.9 minutes per game this season, garnered 49.81 percent of the total votes. Power forward Ed Davis, who is expected to not exercise his player's option for the second year, came in second with 27 percent of votes, while guard Jabari Brown rounded out the top-3 with 8.22 percent.
Backed by a huge Asian-American community in Los Angeles, the 26-year old Lin is easily the most popular Lakers player outside superstar shooting guard Kobe Bryant.
Lin, who was traded by the Houston Rockets to the Lakers in a salary-dump move last offseason, started the first 20 games before head coach Byron Scott decided to put him on the bench in favor of veteran Ronnie Price. Lin's difficulty to run the Princeton-based offensive system along with his inconsistency was cited by Scott as the reasons behind his lineup change.
Lin spent the next three months coming off the bench before he put up a series of strong performances right after the All-Star break, averaging at least 15 points and 5 dimes per game. His revival during the second half of the season impressed the Lakers head coach, who then inserted him back to starting line-up for the final 14 games of their campaign.
With his contract expiring at the end of the season, Lin will hit the market as an unrestricted free-agent for the first time in his career. Many analysts think his flat form during the first half of the season will hurt his free-agency stock, but Lin will nevertheless draw serious interest from several teams looking for some depth at their point guard position.
The Rockets have been mentioned as possible suitor for Lin, while the Lakers could consider re-signing Lin as a backup option if their plan to acquire an All-Star caliber point guard (Rajon Rondo, Goran Dragic and Reggie Jackson) doesn't materialize this summer.
