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Jeremy Lin sounds like he wouldn’t mind staying in LA

April 14, 2015

Los Angeles Clippers’ J.J. Redick, right, tries to steal the ball from Los Angeles Lakers’ Jeremy Lin, center, as Clippers’ DeAndre Jordan, foreground, and Blake Griffin watch during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, April 7, 2015, in Los Angeles. The Clippers won 105-100. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

By Brian Han

Lakers guard Jeremy Lin held his exit interview Tuesday and sounded like he wouldn’t mind staying in Los Angeles if the two sides happened to reach some kind of agreement.

“I’m not ruling anything out, and I don’t know where I’m going to be next year,” he said speaking of his free agency.

The Lakers paid Lin $15 million this year after they acquired him from the Houston Rockets and it would be hard to imagine any team would offer a contract near that number considering his roller coaster of a season.

There has been some public controversy regarding his relationship to coach Byron Scott who at one point gave Lin a DNP-CD (did not play, coach’s decision) – an experience that he described as, “A low point, for sure,” to Pablo Torre of ESPN.

Putting all that behind him, Lin gave off the impression that he felt good about the future.

“It’s never going to be perfect, and I’m definitely encouraged and very optimistic about the progress that has been made,” he said regarding on-court compromises made with Scott. “It’s more about the progression of where we’re heading and not about catering it toward me.”

Lin acknowledged that the communication led to better results towards the latter part of the season.

“I think our respect for each other grew as the season went on,” he said. “I played through some things that I probably shouldn’t have played through. His respect for me and my respect for him has grown throughout the season… That’s what allowed me to flourish.”

According to Lin, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak and Scott have given him pointers on what to work on, possibly hinting that they could see a role for the 26-year-old guard.

“Coach Scott was talking about putting on different hats in terms of who I am,” he said. “Mitch talked about getting in the paint and picking up my dribble, which is true as well.”

When asked about his thoughts on playing with Kobe Bryant, Lin didn’t say much, but mentioned he learned a lot about “the mental side of things.”

Lin averaged 11.2 points and 4.2 assists per game this season.