In August of 2019, veteran point guard Jeremy Lin gave a speech in Taiwan in which he revealed how discouraged he was with his basketball situation. "Rock bottom just seems to keep getting more and more rock bottom for me," Lin said. "So, free agency has been tough. Because I feel like in some ways the NBA's kind of given up on me."
Lin has spent the time since that day playing professionally in China for the Beijing Ducks, but he hasn't given up on his NBA journey. And now, he's on the verge of making a return. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, Lin will sign a deal with the Golden State Warriors' G League team, the Santa Cruz Warriors.
The 2021 G League season will take place at the Disney World bubble in Orlando, with opening night expected to be in early February, and the playoffs wrapping up in early March. Only 18 franchises will be sending a team to take part in the shortened season, and the Warriors will be one of them. Lin will have a chance during those games to impress a team -- whether it's the Warriors or someone else -- and potentially earn an NBA contract.
Lin last played in the NBA in 2019, and was a part of the Toronto Raptors team that won the title that season. He played sparingly in the playoffs, however, and was unable to secure a free agent deal that offseason. After his breakout campaign with the Knicks, Lin established himself as a solid scoring point guard, but has not been quite the same since suffering a torn patellar tendon on opening night in 2017.
Other veterans including Lance Stephenson and Michael Beasley will also be signing G League deals, per Charania. They will be entered into the 2021 G League Draft, which is set for Jan. 11. Stephenson and Beasley both last played in the NBA in 2019 with the Los Angeles Lakers. Beasley was supposed to sign with the Brooklyn Nets as a replacement player for the resumption of the 2019-20 season inside the bubble, but that fell apart after he tested positive for COVID-19.
