Jeremy Lin: Knicks Must Bring Back PG Even If It Means No Steve Nash

Before the emergence of Jeremy Lin this season, the Knicks were in trouble. And if they fail to use their mid-level exception to re-sign him next year, they'll be in trouble again.

Lin's impact on the court was obviously important to a Knicks team that struggled to find a spark before he got his opportunity, but his impact on the team's morale—and on the fans—is the kind of value that can't be replaced.

And it's not as though his skills are too shabby either. This season, Lin proved he has the tools to be a solid NBA point guard. So why—now that the Knicks' season is over and Steve Nash and Jason Kidd are on the market—is all of that being discounted?

On Thursday, Knicks head coach Mike Woodson told the New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy: 

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Jeremy's a big part of our team. Will he start? Only time will tell. He has to recover from his knee and use the summer to work on his game to put himself in the best position possible for our ballclub. He has started for our team and he has played well for our basketball team. But this summer will be very pivotal for him in terms of his improvement and the future is very bright for him. 

"

Woodson's comments were, by all indications, positive. Why, then, do they seem like kind of a slap in the face?

In the eyes of many, Lin earned his starting job last season. When the Knicks desperately needed production at point guard, Lin immediately stepped up and energized a team that had gone 6-11 in the month of January. He led them to seven straight wins, and before he went down with a knee injury, he helped them become a serious playoff contender, averaging 14.6 points and 6.2 assists along the way. 

Nash and Kidd will both be available this summer, which is tempting. Both of them are All-Stars who have established themselves as elite point guards in the NBA, but they are also both aging and don't have many years left in them. At 23, Lin has a lot of basketball left in him, and it's likely he hasn't  shown the best of what he can do.

Most importantly, the fans in New York are behind him. He was the biggest story in the NBA this season and he made the Knicks relevant again. How, then, could the Knicks just cast him aside like he’s expendable?

He may be in his second year in the NBA, and he may have less than 70 career games under his belt, but he did for the Knicks what any great point guard does for his team: He put them in a position to win.

Any second-year player who can do that is deserving of a starting job.