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Dallas Mavericks: No Jeremy Lin, No Problem

By Christian Blood

Mar 27, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, Los Angeles Lakers guard Jeremy Lin (17) takes the ball up court during the first quarter in a game against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Toronto Raptors won 94-83. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 27, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, Los Angeles Lakers guard Jeremy Lin (17) takes the ball up court during the first quarter in a game against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Toronto Raptors won 94-83. Mandatory Credit: Nick Turchiaro-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Dallas Mavericks continue their aggressive offseason by looking into ways to land Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin, according to Yahoo Sports.

This effort continues despite the recent commitment from north Texas hero J.J. Barea, who announced his intentions to return for another season last weekend.

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Much attention has been placed on the point guard position, especially given the fact that last season’s massive gamble on Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics was a huge failure in just about every way.

Rondo certainly leaves a gaping hole on the roster if you’re talking about All Star-caliber point guards that Dallas doesn’t currently have – or do they?

What’s not forgotten, but perhaps overlooked amidst the free agent frenzy of the last week, is the presence of both Raymond Felton and Devin Harris, the latter of which has helped Dallas reach the NBA Finals, albeit close to 10 years ago.

Same can be said of Barea, whose surprisingly aggressive play five seasons ago helped Dallas win its first NBA championship.

Lin has some experience in unexpected play on the court following his brief run as the author of “Linsanity” back in 2012 with the New York Knicks. Since that time, however, Lin has bounced around the league a bit while having played a couple of years with the Houston Rockets and also with the Los Angeles Lakers last season.

Lin’s potential arrival in Dallas will take some intricate maneuvering, but it’s looking like the Harvard University graduate wants to come to the Mavs, the team that gave him his first experience in the professional basketball world.

Lin is a “pass-first” point guard that could probably flourish in Big D. His close relationship with Mavericks small forward Chandler Parsons, due to their playing together in Houston recently, would likely help a transition that would probably be seamless.

However, I don’t know that Lin is a necessity. This is not to suggest that he’d be a luxury, but rather not necessarily vital to Dallas’ hopes in 2015-16.

Yes, Lin can be an exciting player, and he could very well be the difference between a first-round playoff exit and an advance deeper into the Western Conference bracket next summer.

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But how would anybody know that at this point?

Following “Linsanity,” New York went on to lose in the first round of the playoffs to the No. 2 seeded Miami Heat in ’12.

Over the next couple of seasons with the Rockets, Lin never made it passed the first round of the playoffs, losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2013 and to the Portland Trailblazers in 2014.

Since becoming a starter in the NBA, his teams have never finished with a postseason seeding of higher than fourth.

Obviously the Lakers were a terrible team last season and there’s no point in blaming that on Lin. But despite being just 26 years old, Lin’s scoring average has dropped in each season following that explosion in the Big Apple just four years ago.

What does it all mean?

For starters, Lin’s supporting cast has changed dramatically, which includes spending ample time with guard James Harden, who obviously takes a huge number of scoring opportunities for himself.

Lin would be a good fit for the Mavericks and would certainly give head coach Rick Carlisle the type of three-headed monster at the point that he likes to have – this assumes that Felton is probably moved in a deal that brings Lin to Dallas.

But with two other point guards already on the roster with NBA Finals experience with the Mavs, I’m just not sure that he’s a must for a team that still needs several other players to fill out a virtually brand new roster for next season.

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