NBA Free Agents 2012: How Jeremy Lin Signing Would Impact Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets are on the cusp of signing Jeremy Lin to a three-year, $25.1 million deal and stealing him away from the New York Knicks.

Lin’s current team has until Tuesday night to either match the back loaded deal or let the young star defect to Houston.

With Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd now on the Knickerbockers’ roster, it’s looking more and more likely that the latter option is the only reasonable one for New York.

Assuming the Knicks do not match, here are some predictions on how Lin will fare with his new team in Texas.

Lin Will Start and Lead Team in Points

With Kyle Lowry in Toronto and Goran Dragic in Phoenix, the Rockets do not have any solid options at PG.

Lin is going to be a shoe-in to start if he lands in Houston and will immediately boost the offense with his unique ability to score and distribute.

He’ll get his teammates plenty involved, but Lin is going to be the main scorer for a team that direly needs help in that department.

Lin Will Lead Rockets to Postseason

Houston was 34-32 during the lockout-shortened 2011-12 campaign. The Rockets finished just outside of the No. 7 and 8 seeds (36 wins) in the West and easily would have made the postseason had it not been for a 3-7 slide in the last 10 games.

With Lin running the show and a bunch of talented young prospects on the roster, Houston could easily snag one of the low seeds in the conference.

While the franchise won’t be a powerhouse, it will at least begin to build playoff experience.

Linsanity Here to Stay

Lin should be motivated and ready to prove to the Knicks and doubters across the world that he is more than a one-hit wonder.

The young man is an excellent basketball player with a ton of skills that will not just suddenly dissipate now that he has signed a fat contract and switched teams.

All Lin needed was a chance and now he is going to continue to excel in the NBA.