Jeremy Lin, Beijing Ducks Agree to Contract After Winning NBA Title with Raptors
August 27, 2019
Free-agent guard Jeremy Lin reached a deal with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association on Tuesday.
Jeremy Lin @JLin7Thanks to the NBA and everyone who's supported me the last 9 years! Will always cherish being able to rep Asians at the NBA level. Excited for the next step with the Beijing Ducks. Excited to make more history. Congrats lil bro on signing your contract extension on the same day! https://t.co/gRoalAaoal
Terms of his contract were not immediately disclosed.
This marks the latest stop in the 31-year-old's career, as he suited up for eight different organizations during his NBA career. He has never spent more than two consecutive seasons with the same franchise.
Coming off a ruptured patellar tendon in 2017-18, Lin was acquired by the Atlanta Hawks during the summer of 2018. He wound up joining the Toronto Raptors after being bought out by the rebuilding Hawks.
Lin averaged 9.6 points on 44 percent shooting between Atlanta and Toronto this past season, averaging 7.0 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 18.8 minutes per game in 23 regular-season appearances for the Raptors.
He played a limited role in Toronto's championship run, averaging 1.1 points in just 3.4 minutes per game while making eight appearances during the postseason.
As free agency lasted deep into the summer, Lin revealed that he had hit "rock bottom," as he felt like the NBA had "kind of given up on me" (around the 12:40 mark):
As a result, he explored all of his options, which included playing overseas.
Carchia reported in late July that Lin turned down an offer from CSKA Moscow because he was not interested in playing in Europe at that time, holding out hope for an NBA deal. More recently, Chinese reporter Sonx Xiang (h/t Sportando) reported Aug. 18 that Lin was in "advanced talks" with Beijing.
Lin has proved he can provide instant offense, whether he starts or comes off the bench. He has averaged double-digit scoring in seven of the last eight seasons, barely missing the mark this past season while taking on a reduced role.