The Case for Jeremy Lin to Return to the Los Angeles Lakers Next Season

Most people would consider the Jeremy Lin experiment a failure, yet a case can still be made for re-signing the Los Angeles Lakers free agent.

Such a statement is bound to create instant conflict within the team's fanbase. Lin's supporters think he can do no wrong, while his detractors would just as soon ship him off to the development league. 

But like so many things in life and sports, the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

That much was evident during his recent media exit interview, where Lin spoke about a fractured season that ended as it began—with plenty of questions.

"Had a rough start in terms of adjusting to the new system," Lin said, per NBA.com. "And as time went on, I just felt like there was a good progression and improvement throughout the course of the year, and all the way up to the end."

Few souls on Earth are unaware of "Linsanity"—the catch-all term for an Asian-American Harvard grad with a passion for basketball who went undrafted in 2010. Nomadic NBA pit stops led to the end of the New York Knicks’ bench by December 2011. But in February, Baron Davis' injured elbow thrust Lin into the starting lineup.

Three games later, Lin unleashed a 38-point beatdown of Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

"What he's doing is amazing," said then-coach Mike D'Antoni, per Ian Begley of ESPN.com. "He answered a lot of questions."

Frank Franklin II/Associated Press

Lin's Cinderella season ended after 35 games when he underwent knee surgery. But a star had been born, and that summer, the Houston Rockets signed him and tendered a three-year, $25 million "poison pill" contract the Knicks couldn't match without hurtling into the abyss of luxury taxes.

Lin played two seasons in Houston before the Rockets traded him to Los Angeles last summer, where he joined Byron Scott's rebuilding squad.

At his introductory press conference, the Lakers' latest new hope seemed aware of the folly of high expectations as he answered obligatory questions about an incandescent moment in time two years earlier.

"I'm not trying to recreate 'Linsanity' or be that phenomenon that happened in New York," Lin said, per NBA.com. "I just want to be myself more than ever."

Being himself was not to be—at least not on the court. The team declared Steve Nash out for the season, and Lin found himself in the starting lineup. But being a round peg in Scott's square hole didn't bring the best results, and Lin seemed to be on the hot seat from day one. 

There were good nights and bad nights. The point guard was at his best when creating on the fly, but Scott's deliberate pacing and Princeton back-door cuts were a far cry from the fast-paced systems favored by D'Antoni and Houston's Kevin McHale.

There were times when the usually thoughtful and well-spoken Lin seemed at a complete loss for words.

By early December, Lin was out of the starting lineup. Journeyman veteran Ronnie Price replaced him, and second-round rookie Jordan Clarkson succeeded Price. 

"This is one of the toughest situations I've been in ever since I've started playing the game of basketball," Lin said per Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com. "I'm trying to figure it all out."

Figuring it out took a good portion of a season that was doomed from start to finish. The Lakers lost nine of their first 10 games and finished things off at 21-61—otherwise known as their worst record in franchise history.

And as the wheels continued to come off the bus, it became even more evident that Lin's latest coach might not be quite the same advocate his past ones were.

To be fair to Lin, he was trying to adjust his game on the fly. And to be equally fair, Scott was looking for answers and found one with Clarkson, who became the best part of a dismal season as he developed at an exponential rate.

But as a topsy-turvy basketball campaign continued along its zigzag route, Lin began to find acceptance with his latest role, and with it came a renewed sense of confidence as well. 

The onetime toast of New York was providing instant energy and creativity off the bench, including frequent lobs to a favorite target—big man Ed Davis.

Lin's increased minutes and participation also had to do with available bodies. Kobe Bryant tore his rotator cuff in January, Ronnie Price had elbow surgery in February, Nick Young fractured his knee that same month, and Wayne Ellington kicked off April with a separated shoulder.

An interesting byproduct of the revolving chairs was Scott reinserting Lin into the starting lineup alongside Clarkson. Rather than traditional point guard/shooting guard roles, this was more of a two-pronged ball-handling approach, with both players probing and exploring opposing defenses.

"We can both attack and make plays," Lin said, per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News in March. "We might do them in different ways and a different style. But it can definitely work, and that's why I have been able to play the 2 in the past and that's why he can play the 1."

It wasn't an easy season for Lin in Los Angeles, and it may well be that the two sides will go their separate ways. But there was a coming-together as well, with Scott praising the guard’s ability to deal with adversity.

"The one thing about him, the kid takes criticism," Scott said, per Serena Winters of Lakers Nation. "You can jump on him about things, and he takes it with a grain of salt and tries to get better."

Lin echoed the positive sentiments toward Scott during his exit interview: "His respect for me and my respect for him has grown steadily throughout the course of the season."

So, can a case be made for giving this experiment some more time to play out? Lin seems willing to try, as he said the following during his exit interview: "I'm definitely encouraged and very optimistic in terms of progress that was made."

The Lakers will be active in the draft and free agency this summer, and it's possible that they'll bolster the guard ranks to such an extent that there will no longer be a role for Lin.

But the man who spent four years at Harvard before chasing his basketball dream is still evolving and still young, having played just three-and-a-half seasons over a five-year career. Could Lin help lead a rebuilding team into the future?

If management winds up throwing its resources into a dominant big man and a two-way small forward, it would not be inconceivable to see a continuation of the Clarkson and Lin partnership, joined by Bryant as he returns for what will likely be his swan-song year in the NBA.

Perhaps this season will be just one more stop along the curious journey of a player who is still identified by a meteoric spike in New York City.

But a redemptive tale of two cities would end with Lin finally finding a sense of balance in Los Angeles.