With Kobe Bryant is not playing for a season due to his shoulder injury, the Los Angeles Lakers are not advancing to the playoffs. They may be one of the teams that need to make a move before the NBA trade deadline on February 19 (a week away).
According to many reports, Lakers may find it hard to trade the 26-year-old point guard Jeremy Lin due to his big salary and low production.
"Lin is on the salary cap this season for $8.37 million, but he's actually making close to $15 million as part of the offer sheet he signed with the Houston Rockets in July of 2012. Lin is currently still owed $6.05 million this season. For that reason and his lack of production, the Lakers can only deal Lin if they are willing to take back an equally bad contract," ESPN Insider Nick Borges writes that Lin's contract is going to be a problem if the Lakers try to dump him onto a contender looking for a veteran backup.
It was also said that Jeremy Lin has struggled this season with the Los Angeles Lakers as he doesn't appear to be a good fit in Byron Scott's system.
Fansided noted that Lin will probably turn out to be a waste of money and Lakers might fail to get him in a trade considering their huge investment back in the 2014-15 season.
Moreover, he plays better when he has the game on his hands, and he needs the green light to take whatever the defense gives him. This season, Lin leads the Lakers team in assists with 225. He is also averaging 6.5 assists per 36 minutes with a below average supporting cast, and without Bryant on the floor. Lin is also averaging his fewest turnovers since his rookie season.
This experiment has not worked out quite for what the Lakers had hoped. Head coach Byron Scott has regularly benched Lin, and has slowly decreased his playing time. He was expected to receive a large role. However, he failed to take advantage of the role early in the season and has found himself coming off of the bench for the most of the year.
Fansided also noted that Los Angeles will see if they can get anything for Jeremy Lin ahead of the deadline, and it will all depend on how much they want back in return. If they can get a reasonable deal that will provide solid return, Los Angeles Lakers may as well consider it.
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