Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin will become a free agent at the end of this season. Now he's opened up on what the future could bring for him.
According to Bill Oram of Orange County Register, Lin suddenly ended his season with the Lakers after he came down with a sore left knee. Even though the Lakers and Lin had their differences throughout his tenure, the point guard still expressed optimism about his future in Los Angeles.
"I thought that we made a lot of progress in terms of them learning about who I am as a player and as a person, and me learning about who they are and what they want and what they expect on the court," Lin said after facing exit interviews from Lakers coach Byron Scott and general manager Mitch Kupchak.
Oram then asked Lin if the Lakers are on his list when he becomes a free agent in July.
"I don't know where I'm going to be next year," Lin said. "But never say never. I would definitely keep this open, it's not like this is a last resort."
According to Oram, exit interviews were also conducted on Nick Young, Julius Randle, Wayne Ellington and Ronnie Price. Like Lin, all of them have bowed out early from the Lakers basketball court after suffering various sports injuries.
Lin told Oram that in terms of respecting each other, his relationship with Scott "grew as the season went on." He is doing his best to keep all options open during free agency.
"It's never going to be perfect, and I think right now I'm definitely encouraged and very optimistic about the progress that was made," Lin said. "If you talked to me in December or January, I had a very different opinion than I do right now in April."
Lin then opened up to Oram on the decision by the Lakers to replace his position in the lineup by Price.
"I went through losing my starting position (last year) in Houston," Lin said. "We were a playoff team and we were doing well and here we were at the bottom of the standings, setting all types of records in the wrong way."
NBA.com conducted its own exit interview with Lin. The website asked him on what happened with his meeting with Scott and Kupchak.
"I had a rough start in terms of adjusting to the new system and finding out exactly what Coach Scott wanted," Lin said. "As time went on, it just felt like good progression."
NBA.com then asked him how he is dealing with his sports injury.
"Knee's good to go. We're going through the process," Lin said back on April 14. "I started running and cutting today. I just want to play a little one-on-one. I'm pretty much there."
Lin commented that he would have to overcome the challenge of how others perceived him on the court.
"I really haven't played that many games in this league," Lin said. "I'm still growing as a player and sometimes people forget that. I'm still relatively young."
The point guard added that he's "really only played three and a half years," noting that he has not played at all for "a year and a half." Despite that setback, he still sets high expectations for himself.
"Now I want to evolve my game to someone that's not contingent on anything other than me impacting the game," Lin said. "It's an exciting challenge and I'm looking forward to it."
