Los Angeles Lakers point guard Jeremy Lin admitted he felt upset after getting a healthy DNP for the first time since suiting up with the purple-and-gold gold last Friday, adding the experience of sitting on the bench the entire game has certainly changed his perspective as a player.
It has been a disappointing campaign for the 26-year-old Lin whose diminishing role along with his rocky relationship with head coach Byron Scott has put him in a very tight position heading into next summer's free-agency.
On Friday, Lin's career hit rock bottom after Scott shut him down the entire night in the Lakers 99-85 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The former Harvard standout actually put up solid numbers the last time he played against the defending NBA champion, recording 14 points and 8 assists in 30 minutes, however the Lakers head coach decided to give rookie guard Jordan Clarkson more look at the point.
Lin has been on an emotional roller-coaster ride all season long after having been promoted to a starting job and relegated back to the bench after 20 games. His playing time is dwindling by each game but Lin said there's no more frustrating and painful than getting a DNP.
I'm human," Lin told reporters via ESPN. "I've got emotions, too. I show up and do my best to play and work hard and stuff, but it definitely hurts. It's discouraging sometimes. It's disappointing. All those emotions."
Lin eventually played in the game against the Houston Rockets on Sunday, scoring 14 points and 6 assists in 28 minutes. However, Bleacher Report writer Scott Polacek believes Friday's benching only suggested that the Lakers have already begun its full evaluation mode, especially after Kobe Bryant was ruled out for the remainder of the season with a torn rotator cuff.
In short, the Lakers' priority now at this point is to develop their young players like Clarkson, Ryan Kelly and Tarik Black and assess potential returnees like Ronnie Price and Wayne Ellington for the next season.
Lin, on the other hand, is expected to see his minutes decrease even further mainly because he's not a part of the Lakers' future plans, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
Averaging 10.5 points and 4.7 dimes per game, Lin heads into free-agency period full of uncertainly but several insiders still think the Asian-American star will land a contract elsewhere as a backup point guard.
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