Roughly two weeks ago, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski dropped another bomb indicating that the Atlanta Hawks were trading for Jeremy Lin — formerly known as Linsanity.
According to Wojnarowski, the Brooklyn Nets sent over Lin and a 2025 second round pick in exchange for Isaia Cordinier from the Hawks.
In the summer of 2016, the Nets signed Lin to a 3-year, $38 million deal. For some Hawks fans, this may be a head-scratcher but general manager Travis Schlenk knows what he is doing. Taking on the expiring contract of the former Net isn’t the worst thing in the world.
As of now, Atlanta is in entering the second year of their rebuilding phase. What better way to build a young core than to add a mentor and player who knows their role? You may remember Lin being undrafted in 2010, being cut by the Golden State Warriors, playing overseas and being picked up on waivers by the New York Knicks.
During the 2011-12 season, the Knicks had no choice but to hold onto Lin due to injury. Both Iman Shumpert and Baron Davis were sidelined because of injury. Mike D’Antoni, who was the coach at the time, decided to play Lin after his team gave up a huge lead against the Boston Celtics.
Ultimately, Linsanity was born that night and he led the Knicks to a few key wins. Unfortunately, Linsanity would turn into a “what might’ve been” myth after he was ousted by Carmelo Anthony’s ego and a bad stint in Houston. Later on, the 6-foot-3 guard struggled with the Los Angeles Lakers.
However, Lin would flourish as a back up with the Charlotte Hornets. After a successful year in North Carolina, the Harvard product would sign a solid deal with the Nets.
Although Linsanity may be a thing of the past, the former Net can help the Hawks in three key areas.