And-Ones: Lin, Draft Pick Trades, March Madness, J. Howard

Following a productive stint in the G League bubble, where he averaged 19.8 PPG on 50.5% shooting in nine games, veteran guard Jeremy Lin explained to Marc Stein of The New York Times why he opted to play for the Santa Cruz Warriors instead of accepting a far more lucrative offer in China.

“The more that we talked to teams, they were telling my agent, ‘Hey, we want to see if Jeremy’s healthy, and we want to see if Jeremy can still go. No offense to some of the leagues overseas, but we would love to see him here in front of us, in an NBA system, playing under NBA rules,'” Lin said. “I know I’m an NBA player. I know I’m a better shooter. I know I’m a better defender. I know I’m more well rounded as a basketball player. I know these things, but I just needed a chance to show it.”

Within his wide-ranging Q&A with Stein, Lin also revealed that he was affected by a small bone spur in his shooting elbow during his most recent NBA stint in Toronto in 2019, and had to undergo surgery to address the issue after the season. The 32-year-old added that he remains confident he’ll get another chance to play in the NBA, suggesting that he believes it’s “just a matter of time.”

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

• In an interesting piece for The Ringer, Danny Chau dives into the evolution of draft pick trading, examining when and why certain restrictions were put in place, and how teams have continued to get creative with the protections and conditions on traded picks.
• Potential top picks Cade Cunningham, Jalen Suggs, and Evan Mobley are among the many prospects that Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN (Insider link) will be keeping an eye on during the upcoming NCAA tournament. Givony also notes that many NBA executives believe Michigan coach Juwan Howard will be in “high demand” this offseason, though it remains to be seen whether Howard will consider leaving the Wolverines.
• Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press explores how the lure of making the play-in tournament has changed the feel of the trade deadline by creating fewer potential sellers.