Can Jeremy Lin Be the Long-Term Point Guard for Los Angeles Lakers?

For a guy who has been beloved at every stop in his brief career, Jeremy Lin has had a hard time finding an NBA home. He may have just found one with the Los Angeles Lakers.

If permitted to depart from sentiment, the Lakers would readily admit Lin is a member of the team now because the Houston Rockets had to cut salary in their failed push for a marquee free agent. Houston gave Lin up for nothing in order to create max cap room.

The Lakers, short on talent but long on money, opportunistically absorbed the final "poison pill" season of Lin's contract. He'll make almost $15 million this year, though just slightly more than half of that will count against the cap.

To put it mildly, Lin's departure from the Rockets was unceremonious. And his arrival in L.A. was just another non-needle-mover in a generally disappointing summer for the Lakers:



Focusing on the mechanics of Lin's arrival isn't productive. He and the Lakers can only look forward—into a future that, if everyone keeps expectations reasonably in line, might actually be pretty bright.

Lin isn't LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony (though his wild international popularity might mean he'll start the All-Star Game alongside them), but he is immediately the best point guard on the Lakers roster. So, that's something.

Replacing the mighty Kendall Marshall, who played more minutes at the point last year (2,256) than all other Lakers lead guards combined, won't be a particularly daunting task. L.A.'s reclamation project, who'll be toiling with the Milwaukee Bucks this season, took advantage of low expectations and the general disinterest of opponents to average 8.8 assists per game and shoot a surprising (Have you seen his shotput form?) 39.9 percent from long distance.

Lin has never posted distribution or shooting numbers like those, but he has been a key member of winning teams. With enough open shots and def...

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