fatlever wrote:For example, lets say next year, the Warriors offered Lin a chance to back up Curry and return to the Bay area. Although that would mean Lin only getting 15-20 minutes a game and less money. I bet he would gladly choose that situation over signing with a team like the Nets, where he can start on a terrible team, for more money. Again I am using two extreme examples to make my point.
I'm not sure if he would choose a losing Nets team, since he did say one reason he didn't really consider the 76'ers was that "they always lose" and he's doesn't want to be on a tanking team after the tanking season with Byron Scott. But in today's NYPost article, he's provided some insight on the Golden State Warriors bit.
NY Post wrote:It was a surprise Lin chose the small-market Hornets after playing in the larger markets in the Bay Area, New York, Houston and Los Angeles (last season with the Lakers). Lin said he had a chance to rejoin his hometown Warriors, but he wanted a bigger role.
“I entertained it,’’ Lin said. “I just felt like they had something great going there, and if I went there, it would be a very limited role. I felt like, ‘I’m 27 now.’ I want to find where I can be as big a part of a successful team as I can.’’
http://nypost.com/2015/11/17/jeremy-lin-finds-a-home-after-carmelo-friction-warriors-flirting/
He turned down an offer from the Warriors this off-season because he felt they had a good thing going there, and he didn't think he'd get a lot of minutes or a big role there. He's entering the athletic prime of his life and he wants to find a home where he can have a big role and be a big part of a team winning, not a limited minutes backup. So he chose Hornets based on his conversations with Cliff that Charlotte would be the place with the most role and minutes (as both PG backing up Kemba, and SG next to Walker, I think a bit like the 30 minutes a game he got as backup PG/SG on the Rockets, perhaps), even though the Hornets started out not even in his top 6 choices.
Obviously things can change and has, and the games need to be played. But he turned down the champion Warriors for the Hornets, who started out not even in his top 6 choices, based on his expectation of role and minutes from his conversations with Cliff prior to signing. Because he didn't want to be a limited minutes/role backup PG when he turned down the Warriors pitch for Cliff's pitch of being both backup PG and SG next to Walker (perhaps kind of like the 30 minutes a game he got as backup PG/SG on the Rockets).
Let's hope the Hornets make the playoffs and he gets to play a significant role in that to justify his choice of Charlotte over his hometown Warriors based on Cliff's pitch. It's a long season, and let's hope Lin can make a difference and help the Hornets with the playoffs, not just as a limited minutes backup PG. He probably won't re-sign to be a limited minutes backup PG in the summer if he can help it, though, judging by how he chose the Hornets over the Warriors. He'll help the team make the playoffs and then move on in the summer if he can't find a home here.
That's still a bargain for $2M.