Jeremy Lin has yet to secure a new contract for the 2019/20 season, and he doesn’t appear to be closing the door on the idea of signing with a team in the Chinese Basketball Association, writes Jonathan White of The South China Morning Post. According to White, Lin said during a recent appearance in Guangzhou that he’s keeping his options open.
“Of course I am thinking about the CBA,” Lin said. “I don’t know where I will be next year, so I don’t have expectations. I know what level I can play at, so if I don’t get that I won’t settle.”
In a separate story for the Morning Post, White relays a report from basketball reporter Jia Lei, who wrote on Chinese outlet Sina Sports that multiple teams have contacted Lin’s camp to express interest in bringing him to China. It’s not clear which CBA clubs are eyeing the veteran point guard, but Jia suggests Lin is weighing the possibility of a move to China.
Lin, who will turn 31 later this month, struggled down the stretch last season for the Raptors, averaging just 7.0 PPG and 2.2 APG on .374/.200/.810 shooting in 23 games (18.8 MPG). Those marks all ranked among the worst of his NBA career, and he didn’t see much action in the playoffs.
Still, Lin posted solid numbers for the Hawks in 51 games in 2018/19 before being bought out, recording 10.7 PPG and 3.5 APG on .466/.333/.845 shooting.
For an NBA team seeking point guard depth, there aren’t a ton of reliable options out there, with Lin and Shaun Livingston representing the best veteran free agents still on the board. If Lin remains patient, it seems likely he’ll catch on with an NBA team, particularly once injuries start piling up in the fall. However, if he wants to secure a deal sooner rather than later, he could be tempted by a larger role and a guaranteed salary in China or Europe.
Ah Linsanity… that was the last time the knicks had something similar to what some call Hope, illusion, excitement… you name it
Aside from China, a lot of ex-NBA players also play as imports in the pro league in the Philippines or in the ASEAN Basketball League.
Terrence Jones is tearing up the PBA right now. The Rockets will probably add him to their roster next week once his team is done competing for the Commissioner’s Cup.
From LINSANITY to REALITY. Was fun while it lasted. During the “LINSANITY era”, short as it was, Lin’s impact on the NBA was arguably more than Yao’s.
Saying (Taiwanese) Lin’s impact on the NBA was arguably more than (Chinese) Yao’s is like trying to compare Taiwan’s impact on the world to China’s. There are about 24 million people in Taiwan, while China has the world’s largest population of about 1.4 billion.
Yao Ming hasn’t played in the NBA for years, but there were already millions of Rockets fans in China when Lin back when still playing for Harvard, before going undrafted by the NBA. Also Yao has been the chairman of the CBA for the past two years while Lin has basically faded into obscurity even after winning a ring with the Raptors.
That sounded political. It is splitting hairs to say the Taiwanese are not Chinese but the question is politically loaded from both sides. Lin is still an active competitor, why point out he has no desk job?
Lin was the first Chinese-American in the NBA and was temporarily a headline player in society overall, not just in the NBA cocoon. That’s why Linsanity was bigger. Someone not even very tall, with descent from the Ivy league and China, figured out the NBA like anything can be figured out and his team temporarily changed fortunes.
Yao was indeed a better player than Lin, but you had to be connected to Houston or China or follow the NBA reasonably closely to sense an impact. He was just one of some team’s best players, and that team was constantly waiting on his health. Yao got as far as the second round once in 9 years and almost half of his career minutes came in his first three years. He only played 91 minutes in the last of his 8 allstar years, whatsup with that. I recall no innovations or much style, just height.
You cannot be serious??? Yao if he stayed healthy would have been a perennial MVP candidate & was multiple times All-NBA…
Lin never has been anything else than an average or mediocre player!
It would be dumb for a china team NOT to be in on Lin.
Sad times for Lin. Signed him to my 2K Spurs team. Maybe his comments of not wanting to change his slasher playing style post-injury has warded off teams willing to give him a shot. Otherwise, it’s pretty strange he’s still a FA.