The possibility of Jeremy Lin playing once again under the tutelage of his Mike D'Antoni dashed away following the Denver Nuggets' decision to pick former Sacramento Kings head coach Mike Malone as its next chief bench tactician.
Lin, who will become an unrestricted free-agent starting July 1, had been heavily mentioned as potential free-agency targets for the Nuggets because many thought Denver would be D'Antoni's next head coaching stop.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, D'Antoni was the leading candidate to replace Brian Shaw as the next head coach for the Nuggets several months ago. The NBA insider believe the veteran coach's fast-paced offensive system would reinvigorate the Nuggets to playoff contention after two dreadful seasons under Shaw.
However, with the arrival of general manager Pete D'Alessandro as the team's consultant, Malone's application was taken into consideration, putting him in the mix alongside Melvin Hunt and D'Antoni. After making a great impression in the initial meeting with Nuggets officials, Malone received a second interview, and by that time, it was concluded that the Nuggets head coaching vacancy has already been filled.
Although there's still a possibility the Nuggets would pursue the 26-year old Lin this summer, their chances of nabbing the Asian-American star decreased dramatically following their decision to forego D'Antoni's application. Lin has a great deal of respect for his former Knickerbockers head coach, whom he considers as an offensive genius and the man responsible for making 'Linsanity' happen.
With the Nuggets filling in the last head coaching vacancy in the NBA, it may take some time for Lin (11.2 points and 4.6 assists in 25 mins per game via ESPN Stats) to reunite with his former mentor. Nevertheless, this development would surely have an impact on Lin's free-agency decision over the next few weeks.