Jeremy Lin, even this early in the offseason, has been drawing interest from multiple teams hoping to get a solid point guard at a bargain price. The Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets and the Philadelphia 76ers are viewed as the lead suitors, but Utah-based NBA writer Matt Pecenza proposed another destination for the Asian-American star.
In his latest blog entry on Tru Hoops affiliate site Salt City Hoops, Pacenza made several points about the prospect of Lin playing for the up-and-coming Jazz.
While they have an incredible young guard in Dante Exum, the Aussie's performance last season showed that he's still pretty raw and would probably need a year or two to improve other facets of his game, particular on the offensive aspect. Trey Burke, the former College Player of the Year winner, had a so-so year as he averaged 12.8 points and 4.3 dimes last season in 30 minutes per game.
According to Pacenza, signing Lin to a short term contract ($10MM over two years) would make sense for Jazz, as it provides the team stability in their backcourt while Exum is at the infant stage of his development.
He suggested that Lin's above average PER 15.65 and season averages from last season, 11.1 points and 4.6 assists, despite playing 25 minutes would make him a better backup to Exum than Burke (12.64 PER) and perhaps close out games in some occasions whenever the youngster is having a tough night.
Although Pacenza doubted Lin would reach the level he had with New York, the guard's performance the past three seasons, no matter how erratic it was, is actually better compared to other backup point guards in the league, including Burke.
A short term contract could also work out well for Lin, who can benefit a lot from playing for a small market ball club and perhaps capitalize on strong output with the Jazz for another lucrative paycheck in 2017.