NBA Rumors: Hornets’ Nic Batum and Kemba Walker Open Up About Jeremy Lin’s Departure

By Carlo Monzon
Jeremy Lin
Lin is one of the few Asian Americans in NBA history, and the first American of Chinese or Taiwanese descent to play in the league. Photo Credit: USATSI

Kemba Walker and Nic Batum of the Charlotte Hornets admitted that it was hard watching Jeremy Lin walk away from the team to join the Brooklyn Nets. But, despite the team's loss, they noted that they're happy that their former teammate has landed a better opportunity in the NBA.

Some of the highlights of this year's free agency was Kevin Durant joining the Golden State Warriors and Dwayne Wade leaving the Miami Heat. But aside from these, another notable event was then Lin announced that he will part ways with the Hornets to join the Nets.

Aside from the fact that the face of Linsanity will return to New York, Lin's transition to the Nets was celebrated by his fans because it means that has the opportunity to be the team's starter, something Lin hasn't experienced ever since he debuted in the NBA.

Like Lin's fans, Walker also said that he's happy with his former teammate joining Brooklyn.

"I hate to see him go, but at the same time I'm definitely happy for him," he said according to Nets Daily. "He deserves to be a starter in this league. He's such a great player and he proved that last season. There were games where I was off and he carried the team."

Batum also shared the same sentiment as Walker and noted that Lin joining Brooklyn is a huge loss for Charlotte.

"It's huge for Hornets losing Jeremy Lin," he said. "He's a great player. Jeremy Lin's very athletic, can score and defense. I'm gonna miss him for sure."

As for Lin, he knows the responsibility that comes with becoming a team's starting point guard. And even though he's well aware of the Linsanity phenomenon, he noted that he's more focused on being a batter player for the Nets than becoming another sensation.

He also knows that being with a new team means trusting a lot in the new environment and new teammates.

"I was thinking of free agency as like when you invest in a startup company," he said according to Fan Sided. "You don't necessarily look at the product right then and there. That's a big part of it, but you're kind of betting on the founder a lot of times."

"I feel like that's how this is," he added. "I'm betting on certain people. I'm betting on Kenny [Atkinson]. I'm betting on Sean [Marks], I'm betting on myself, I'm betting on Brook Lopez."

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