Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin, along with the center Omer Asik, is rumored to be offered up for trade, as Rockets are reportedly trying to acquire Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard for the 2013 Draft.
Houston has secured a contingent first meeting with the NBA All-Star just one day after NBA’s free-agent negotiating periods begin on mid-night July 1, league source told CBS Sports. Rockets’ GM Daryl Morey and former Rocket Hakeen Olajuwon will be leading the meeting scheduled for Monday in Los Angeles.
News of Houston putting Lin on trading block came as a surprise to some, since the only other point guards on the roster are Patrick Beverley and the recently drafted Isaiah Canaan. Moreover, Lin and Asik were signed last summer to three-year, back-loaded $25.1 million contracts as restricted free agents, both of whom are owed $8.375 million over each of the next two seasons.
The SB Nation speculates that a possible make up to trading Lin would be to have Beverley play as a starter as he emerged as a quality person last season. Also, Lin could be dealt for another point guard or for more rotation players. Meanwhile, Lin might end up in Detroit, according to a long-shot speculation by CBS Sports commentators. The Rockets could acquire Jose Calderon from the Pistons in a sign-and-trade deal.
Earlier last week, some speculates that Rockets would release Lin to sign Chris Paul, star point guard of Los Angeles Clippers. Other suggests that Los Angeles Lakers will pick up Lin, who might thrive under former Linsanity coach Mike D’ Antoni.
In about a month and half, Lin, who is an evangelical Christian, will be heading to Taiwan, birthplace of his parents, to engage in a core passion of his life – sharing the good news of the gospel. He is scheduled to preach to 18,000 youths in Taipei in an evangelistic conference titled “Dream Big, Be Yourself.” He will be joined by Taiwanese-American pop-star Van Ness Wu and potentially Asian ‘king of pop’ Jay Chou during the gathering held at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center on August 18th.
In 2010, Lin told NPR that his dream after his basketball career ends is to get involved in a ministry or potentially become a pastor and work with underprivileged kids. Yet Lin’s career in the NBA has only just begun, and the first American of Taiwanese or Chinese descent is highly valued for his work ethics and potential yet to be developed as well as marketing value.
Earlier this month, Lin reached a three-point shooting accuracy rate of 78 percent during his offseason practice, in which he and his younger brother scored 783 three-pointers out of 999 shots, according to his Facebook photo. In addition, the 24-year-old point guard scored 45 points in the Pro-Am game over the weekend in San Francisco.
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