Knicks Rumors: Why Baron Davis Should Start Instead of Jeremy Lin

Jeremy Lin had a meteoric rise to stardom and now his plummet to non-stardom seems to be coming with equal rapidity. According to a report by Newsday, his role will be diminished now that Mike Woodson is the acting head coach. Barbara Barker reports:

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Lin, and the Knicks' other young players, stand to be the biggest losers in the transition from Mike D'Antoni's offense to [Mike] Woodson's. After his first full practice in charge Thursday, Woodson made it clear that it is going to be the veterans, primarily Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, whom he is going to look for at the end of games.

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That's not a bad thing for the Knicks or for Jeremy Lin. When we take a step back from the sheer Linsanity of the story that vaulted Lin from a nobody to a modern myth, this could be the best thing for him. 

What is Lin? He's a player with some promise. He's confident, he's aggressive and actually handles the ball pretty well through traffic. He's a good, NBA-caliber player. 

At the same time, he is not Derrick Rose or Russell Westbrook. He has a lot to learn. He needs to learn to go to his left. He needs to cut down on mistakes. 

These are not insults or derogatory statements about Lin. They're observations that are reasonable for a player with limited NBA experience. 

The Knicks should do two things with Lin. First, they should give him a multi-year, guaranteed contract. Second, they should start Baron Davis.

They should give him the contract so as to eliminate concerns about Lin's future with the team. But they should also start Davis over him for the future of the team.

Starting Davis gives Lin a chance to really learn Woodson's offense. It gives him a chance to learn how to cut down on his mistakes. It gives him a chance to run with the young guns on the second team where he can be the leader of the unit rather than compete with Anthony. 

It also gives the Knicks a better chance to succeed with the more experienced Davis running the team. 

This move would not be Lin's fault. If any fault is to be given out here, it's to the media, who, based on a half-dozen games, made him an international celebrity. Being a celebrity is not the same thing as being a star. Any reality show can prove that. 

To be a celebrity just means you get recognized. To be a star you have to shine at what you do for a sustained period of time. Having Lin lead the second unit would allow him to grow into his game, allowing him to be more of a star instead of just a celebrity.