Jeremy Lin: Mike Woodson Says Linsanity Will Absolutely Be Back with Knicks

After point guard Jeremy Lin's breakout season with the New York Knicks this year, there was some concern with regards to whether the Knicks would re-sign him. Head coach Mike Woodson isn't worried in the least, however; he is confident that Lin will be back in New York after meeting with him in Los Angeles.

According to Marc Berman of the New York Post, Woodson met with Lin, Carmelo Anthony and Tyson Chandler for five days in California. Woodson bonded with the players and also worked them out during his visit. Apparently the trip was quite positive—Woodson doesn't seem to have any concern regarding Lin's status as a free agent:

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Absolutely he’s going to be back. ... We like what he brings to the table. He’s our starting point guard. He’s a young point guard who’s still learning, and he’s going to be better. That’s what happens to good, young players. If they work at their craft, they’ll be much better for it. Absolutely, he wants to be here.

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Lin came out of nowhere last season when former Knicks head coach Mike D'Antoni gave him a chance to play in February. Lin had previously been a benchwarmer, but with point guards Toney Douglas and Mike Bibby struggling mightily, Lin was thrown into the fire.

Perhaps it wasn't an ideal situation, but Lin certainly thrived. He ended up averaging 14.6 points, 6.2 assists and 3.1 rebounds per contest on the season. He appeared to be more effective in D'Antoni's up-tempo system, as his numbers dropped a bit when Woodson took over, but the new head coach seems more than willing to stick with Lin to ensure that he is successful for the Knicks.

The Knicks scored a major victory last week when it was announced they would receive Bird rights on Lin.

That means the Knicks have the right to sign him to a contract that would exceed the salary cap, and it gives them the advantage over other teams that might want to make Lin an offer. Provided Lin intends to stay, as Woodson believes he does, there isn't anything stopping the Knicks from signing him.

Lin seemed to have difficulty meshing with the likes of Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire, as much of his success came with them on the shelf, but the Knicks promise to be very dangerous if they can learn to work together as a unit. Lin will be a big part of that if he re-signs—especially since backup Baron Davis is going to miss all of next season with a knee injury.

The Knicks need Lin not only from a personnel standpoint, but from a public relations perspective as well.

Lin became an overnight sensation in New York and across the entire nation, for that matter. There would be a ton of backlash if the Knicks failed to sign Lin, and coupled with Woodson's certainty on the matter, all signs point to Linsanity running wild in the Big Apple for the foreseeable future.

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