The Los Angeles Lakers purportedly have wanted to trade Jeremy Lin before the NBA deadline, but according to a new report, are unlikely to have any luck. Lin's struggles with consistency this season have sunk any trade value he might have had, according to Sean Deveney of Sporting News.
Lin, who becomes an unrestricted free agent in the summer, has been mentioned in trade rumors since the beginning of the season. Moving him, though, seems less and less likely as the Feb. 19 deadline draws closer.
"Lin has had a rough season, and it's happened at a bad time-just ahead of free agency this summer. While some of that has been the result of a bad fit in LA, it's also been Lin's own struggles with his shooting, particularly from mid-range," Deveney wrote Wednesday. "He still would make a good backup point guard, and the Lakers would move him if they could get an asset in return, but the market for Lin has been weak."
The 26-year-old point guard is averaging 10.4 points and 4.7 assists per game this season, but his inability to turn in consistent performances has been an issue with first-year Lakers coach Byron Scott, who demoted Lin to the bench earlier in the season and even chose not to play him on Jan. 23 against San Antonio.
"The effort has been great. That hasn't been a problem with Jeremy," Scott said, via ESPN. "It's just a matter of being consistent each and every night, trying to get into a flow each and every night. That's what we talked about again (Sunday morning)."
The fact Lin has an expiring contract is, at least partly, negated by the $14.8 million price tag that comes with it. The one team who would benefit from taking on Lin's contract is the Philadelphia 76ers, who are about $13 million below the league-mandated salary cap minimum. The 76ers would probably only take on Lin's contract if it were packaged with an asset, which the rebuilding Lakers would likely be hesitant to do.
