Star point guard now a part of the storied NBA franchise.
The Los Angeles Lakers said they claimed their prize after four years of trying, and the fruits of their labour is point guard Jeremy Lin.
Lin burst onto the NBA scene effectively during the biggest whirlwind rises to fame seen in recent years when he turned a sagging New York Knicks around in season 2011-12.
Lin spent the last two years as a member of the Rockets before the Lakers acquired the Harvard product, along with a future first-round pick and a 2015 second-round pick in exchange for the rights to Sergei Lischchuk.
With L.A. having enough cap space, they were able to absorb his salary, while also maintaining cap flexibility for the future as Lin’s contract expires at the end of the season.
”I’m really excited to be a part of this organisation and I’m seeing this as a new start, a fresh start,” Lin said.
Lakers GM Mitch Kupchack was excited to have Lin on board as they team tries to rebound from their horror 2013-14 season, which resulted on one of the worst season records in franchise history.
“(Jeremy) came to Los Angeles a week ago for his physical and we had a chance to visit in my office,” Kupchak said. “The first thing I said to him when he sat down in my office was: “The third time is the charm.”
“We were negotiating with his representatives to bring him to Laker camp.
“There was guaranteed money involved and it came to a point where it was the same as the Warriors. Jeremy, because of his roots in the Bay Area, chose the Warriors. So we missed out on him four years ago.”
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