Grade the deal: Jeremy Lin announces he will sign with Hornets
Free-agent point guard Jeremy Lin announced in an Instagram post on Wednesday that he would sign with the Charlotte Hornets.
Lin will sign a two-year deal worth more than $4 million, reports Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski.
Lin, 27 in August, spent last season with the Los Angeles Lakers and averaged 11.2 points and 4.6 assists over 74 games (30 starts). He arrived in Los Angeles via trade from the Houston Rockets, with whom he had spent the previous two seasons.
The Lakers drafted point guard D’Angelo Russell with the No. 2 pick in the NBA draft last month, seemingly taking Lin’s spot in the backcourt. Jordan Clarkson is also another Lakers point guard who averaged 11.9 points, 3.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds over 59 games (38 starts) last season.
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Over his five seasons in the NBA, Lin has averaged 11.7 points, 4.8 assists and 2.6 rebounds over 291 career games. He is a career 43.7% shooter from the field and 34.9% from three-point range.
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Analysis: A terrific contract for one of the better pick-and-roll creators on the market. The fit, admittedly, is a bit awkward; Lin won’t have an opportunity for big minutes in Charlotte and, so long as Al Jefferson is central to the offense, the Hornets’ game plan will always have an interior focus. The value is good enough that those concerns are quieted. Lin can initiate offense as a member of the second unit and get to the rim when surrounded by some of Charlotte’s newly acquired perimeter threats (rookie Frank Kaminsky included). At worst, the Hornets have a quality player out of sync with their chosen style signed to a terrific, surprising contract. — Rob Mahoney
