5. Jeremy Lin (Los Angeles Lakers)
Point guard Jeremy Lin had one of the most spectacular coming-out parties in the history of the NBA in the winter and spring of 2012.
Filling in for several New York Knicks point guards who were either traded away or injured, Lin put on a show at Madison Square Garden, averaging over 14 points and six assists in 35 games with New York that season.
Lin left the Knicks as a restricted free agent for the Houston Rockets, where he struggled as a starter and was eventually replaced by the less expensive and more effective Patrick Beverley.
Traded to Los Angeles last offseason, Lin has still been unable to recapture the magic that swept up the basketball world four years ago. With the Lakers season lost, Byron Scott has replaced the veteran point guard in the starting lineup with rookie Jordan Clarkson.
But Lin is a rangy point guard who can break down defenses and create openings on the perimeter for his teammates. He is second on the team to the injured Kobe Bryant in assists with 4.6 a game, and he can still score, averaging over 10 points per game.
But in the West, where nearly every team has a sensational starting point guard (and sometimes two or three point guards, like the Phoenix Suns), Lin is not likely to find a starting role.
Nor would he necessarily find starters minutes in the East. But he could certainly be an effective reserve on a team such as the Heat, who use a platoon system with Chalmers, Cole and Napier. Lin might be a very sensible addition to that rotation and offer a more natural and dynamic presence to the Heat’s point guard position.
Lin’s backloaded contract, which pays him over $14.8 million dollars in 2014-2015, expires at the end of the season. Like several of the players mentioned above, that makes him a tempting risk – both in terms of talent and finances – to take for a number of teams, since both parties can go their separate ways in the summer.
At the same time, both parties could win, with Lin auditioning for his next contract while helping the team he is potentially traded to succeed.
The trade deadline is February 19th, just seven days away.
Let’s see how the NBA playing field is altered by the moves teams make before then.
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