July 12, 2011
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Matt Steinmetz
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With the NBA lockout jeopardizing all or part of the 2011-12 season, Warriors guard Jeremy Lin would seem to be a perfect candidate to head overseas. After all, he's not under contract for the upcoming season and -- even with his improvement a year ago -- could certainly use all the game experience he can get.Not to mention, Lin would no doubt make more money playing in Asia than he would in the NBA.But if you know anything about Lin, he's not ready to make that move yet.
"The No. 1 thing for Jeremy is to establish himself as an NBA player," said Roger Montgomery, Lin's agent, on Tuesday. "We've never talked about making this or making that in terms of money, which he could do in Asia. Jeremy wants to be an NBA player."RELATED: Jeremy Lin statssplitsgame logs
There were doubts about whether that was even a possibility in the early part of the 2010-11 season. Lin was signed to a guaranteed contract after going undrafted out of Harvard, and he struggled to make the adjustment to the NBA. But over the course of the season, Lin's game got noticeably better -- to the point where he could be in the mix to get minutes behind Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis in 2011-12.Provided, of course, there is a 2011-12 season."Jeremy is excited about the situation in Golden State," Montgomery said. "His role could be as a backup to Steph. With Mark Jackson coming in and talk of defense, defense, defense, that would be a positive. Nobody wants to lose a season. It would be a great opportunity for him coming back. So we're status quo. Now ... if the season is cancelled, then we'll have to look at Plan B."Montgomery's point is Lin is absolutely committed to seeing the NBA thing through this year and the forseeable future -- and Lin will operate under that premise until and unless it becomes official that the NBA season will not happen.Interestingly, Lin would likely make significantly more money playing in Asia, and there already have been inquiries about Lin's availability. Another of Montgomery's clients, Sonny Weems, recently signed with a team in Lithuania."Every situation with Europe and Asia is unique," Montgomery said. "And Jeremy's is, too. He could make a nice living over there. But again, Jeremy wants to be an NBA player."But to do that, Lin is going to need an NBA season.