After playing a total of 37 games in the last two seasons, Jeremy Lin is finally healthy again and has been a pleasure to watch this season. In 19.3 minutes per game, he is averaging 11.0 points and 3.5 assists while mentoring the future point guard of the Hawks, Trae Young. If that wasn’t the case, the NBA journeyman could be well on his way to the best statistical season of his career.
Teams have been taking notice too. Less than a month ago, it was reported that the Orlando Magic were interested in Jeremy Lin, and it appears the market is only expanding.
Sounds like interest in Jeremy Lin is picking up around the league. $13.8M expiring contract, playing pretty well, experienced veteran PG. Hawks should be able to snag a decent asset for Lin. Nothing amazing, but a nice piece to further aid in the rebuild.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 9, 2019
As Smith mentions, Lin is in the midst of the final year of his contract worth close to $14 million. He has the experience and the right attitude to benefit a competing team by coming off the bench. He will not require a substantial haul, but a first-round pick outside of the lottery should be enough to pry Lin away from the Hawks.
Anything less, and Atlanta might be best-suited to hold onto Lin and continue to allow him to tutor Young throughout his rookie season.
In less surprising news, John Collins continued to bolster his All-Star campaign. He followed up his 21-point and 14 rebound performance on Tuesday versus the Raptors, with a 30-point and 14 rebound showing yesterday against the Nets.
Those games put Collins’s numbers for the year at 18.8 points and 10.6 rebounds with a 21.58 PER. And if you haven’t noticed those numbers are only going up.
Take a look at the stats from the two months he has been healthy this season:
December: 21.3 points, 12.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 57.3 FG%, 33.3 3-PT FG%
January: 19.4 points, 11.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 60.7 FG%, 66.7% 3-PT FG%
It is to the point, where you can, undoubtedly, make an argument that John Collins is the best player from the 2017 draft class. Here is your daily reminder to vote him into the 2019 NBA All-Star Game.
Unfortunately, the Hawks still came up short, 116-100, against the Nets. Trae Young added 17 points and 7 assists. Kevin Huerter scored 14 to go along with 10 rebounds, and Jeremy Lin dropped in 16 off the bench.
D’Angelo Russell led the way for the Nets with 23 points.