Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchack traded for Jeremy Lin last offseason with the intention of keeping the Asian-American star for the remainder of his career, Bleacher Reports writer Kevin Ding stated in his recent article.
According to the long-time Lakers beat writer, Kupchack's plan ever since he hammered a deal with the Houston Rockets for Lin's service is to lock in the 26-year old point guard for a long-term deal.
Kupchak had wanted to bring offseason acquisition Jeremy Lin to the Lakers for the entirety of the point guard's career, Ding stated in his article via Hoops Rumors.
"Lin, born in Los Angeles and raised in Northern California, has had a rocky start to his stint in L.A. and was recently removed from the starting lineup. The Lakers acquired the fifth-year guard from the Rockets this summer."
In spite his up-and-down play with the Rockets, the expectation on Lin becoming a star player had remained immense, especially with the new opportunity given to him the Lakers management and head coach Byron Scott.
With Steve Nash going down with a season-ending back injury in training camp, Lin has assumed the starting role for the first 20 games of the season.
Although he had provided a decent statistical line of 11 points and 5 assists per game, his inability to run the Princeton offense consistently along with his defensive miscues forced Scott to pull him out of the starting five and give veteran playmaker Ronnie Price a 10-game audition to prove his worth.
Scott's decision to relegate him to the bench definitely rattled Lin to the point of calling the situation the toughest he's ever been.
But after two lackluster games as a backup point guard, Lin came through with one of his best games in Lakers uniform as he contributed 14 points and 8 dimes in the team's 112-110 win over defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs on Friday.
Lin, who was one of the targets of Kobe Bryant's tirade during Thursday's practice, admitted that the Lakers superstars' verbal onslaught motivated him to perform better. On Sunday, Lin will have a chance to prove his worth when the Lakers visit the Minnesota Timberwolves at Target Center.
