Jeremy Lin Trade Rumors Heat Up Again, Team May Need 'Pass First' Guard
The Houston Rockets' acquisition of Center Dwight Howard could signal the end of popular point guard Jeremy Lin, who will now be looked upon to be the facilitator of the teams offense.
Lin did not live up to the hype of Linsanity the year before on the New York Knicks. The player came in very hyped over a great stretch of 25 or so games with the Knicks, and even received his paycheck based on that time. However, his first season in Houston was pedestrian at best.
He finished the season with 13.4 points per game and 6.1 assists and only ranked in the top 10 in point guards in two categories. He was as low as 46th in field goal percentage, according to Bleacher Report.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
Lin was overmatched many times throughout the season to supposedly "lesser" point guards, but was a no show in the playoffs. Yahoo! Sports said with the amount of talent Lin had around him, he was sure to see a numbers explosion, but that simply was not the case.
With a player like Howard commanding the ball down low and shooting guard James Harden scoring at will, the Rockets need a team-minded point guard who can create shots, which is usually not Lin's game. Lin is a slasher to the basket and a streaky spot-up shooter.
A report was released before the Rockets got Howard that Lin and Omer Asik were on the trading block in order to make room for the big man.
However, the team stuck to their guns and defended their players being on the team.
According to 630WPro, Lin and Omer Asik were reportedly being shopped around in an effort to clear more cap space, but Daryl Morey, general manager, has shot down those rumors.
"Both with Omer and Jeremy, we feel like they're good fits for Dwight," Morey told The Houston Chronicle. "Omer and Dwight would give us the best (centers) in the league in combination. Jeremy is an attacking guard, great in pick-and-roll, a great fit for Dwight. Dwight works great with shooting and attacking guards."
