Lakers Rumors: Los Angeles Wise To Pass on Jeremy Lin

Hindsight is 20/20 and statistics can be deceiving, those two principles are the reasons the Lakers were right to pass on NBA sensation, Jeremy Lin. Mike Brown was quoted in an article by Mike Bresnahan of the L.A. Times about the Lakers' opportunity to sign Lin a few weeks ago:

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"I knew who [Lin] was because when he was floating out there, I know Mitch had some interest in him and he brought his name up to me," Lakers Coach Mike Brown said, referring to General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

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Everybody loves to vilify teams for passing on guys who turn out to be good players. One of my favorites is the Portland Trailblazers being criticized for taking Greg Oden over Kevin Durant.

It seems simple now, but in that same situation, if you don't know what you know now about Oden's injuries and Durant's skill, you take Oden every time.

Anyone that tells you different doesn't know the game or is lying.

It's easy to look at what Lin has done over the past four games and say, "wow, the Lakers should have taken a chance on that guy."

A week ago, Lin was just another reserve point guard trying to find a permanent spot in a team's rotation. It is unfair to say the Lakers or any other team, should have known to sign him.

The Lakers were not alone in passing on Lin. Even the Knicks let him accumulate more DNP coaches decisions than points through the first 15 games of the season.

Lin's move into the starting lineup was a move of desperation for the Knicks that just happened to work out. They were 8-15 when he became a starter and the team seemed headed for the draft lottery. They needed a spark, so D'Antoni turned to Lin.

The Lakers have not been that desperate this season.

The biggest reason the Lakers were right in not signing Lin, was because it's a mismatch in system. Lin needs the ball to be effective, he would not have the ball that often in the Lakers' system.

The offense runs through Kobe Bryant, thus the best point guard to play alongside Kobe is one that can play off the ball.

That isn't Lin.

Kobe's ideal backcourt mate needs to be a solid outside shooter to provide spacing on the floor. We've seen it a million times. Kobe draws the double team, he hits Derek Fisher, Fisher drains the deep three.

That isn't Lin's game, he's only shooting 22 percent from three-point range. Playing with the Lakers would not put Lin in his comfort zone and Mike Brown eluded to that with these comments in Bresnahan's article:

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"He's in the right system," Brown said of the Knicks' run-and-gun offense. "Maybe if he's on another team, he doesn't have the success because he doesn't have the freedom that he has here offensively. It'll be interesting if he can keep it when [Amare] Stoudemire and Carmelo [Anthony] come back."

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I agree with that assessment—and I rarely agree with Mike Brown.

It's not impossible that "Lin-sanity" will continue even after Melo and Amar'e return, but it isn't likely that the 38-point explosions will become common place.

Still, he fits the Knicks' system and it's great that he landed in the right place. Envious Lakers fans should understand,

"What might be right for you, may not be right for some."

Ha, I just snuck in a quote from the Different Strokes theme song in a Lakers article, I love this job.