More options arise for Jeremy Lin as teams which could provide a clearer window for contention could make a real pursuit.
The LA Clippers are a hard-luck team with its core on the edge. They had a roller-coaster season that had them floundering at the gate but making a remarkable recovery despite an injury to one of their main stars. Just when they had the potential to make a splash in the playoffs, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin got injured.
While there are talks about the core splitting up, the safe bet is that the team may still band together for one final run before Paul and Blake hit free agency at the end of next season. That said, they still need to tweak the roster and address some of their glaring needs.
Jeremy Lin of the Charlotte Hornets is now a free agent and despite his stellar play, his current team seems preoccupied with their free agent priorities (Nic Batum in particular). This is the hard truth that Bobby Marks of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports declared.
"The odd man out is likely going to be Lin. With Lin opting out of his contract - and with non-Bird rights - Charlotte will have to use cap space to sign him. To create room, Charlotte would need to address Batum, Jefferson, Lee and Williams before circling back to Lin. The large cap holds have Charlotte over the salary cap."
It is expected that he will get prime offers and some teams in need of a starting point guard will give him the promise of starter's prime minutes and major money to boot.
But will Lin consider staying low-key if it gives him a window to contend? This is the question that Clipperholics sought to address.
The Clippers "simply need a solid guard to support Chris Paul, play some defense, add some more penetration to a perimeter-reliant bench, and set up the offense, Lin is worth some interest," Tom West of Clipperholics suggested.
The plus factors for the Clips is that they are based in a city that Lin is familiar with (Los Angeles) and more than any suitors who can offer more money and a starting role, they are actual contenders if they remain healthy.
However, recent comments from Lin state that he actually wants to be a starter even though he also considers the team's chances of winning. Lin has been underpaid for the better of his career and he has shown that he deserves major money.
With too much cap space floating around, other players who bring less to the table than Lin can score max deals, so it would be difficult for Lin to take another pay cut. Thus, it is unlikely that he would join the LA Clippers.