NBA Rumors: Charlotte Hornets Refusing To Start Jeremy Lin

NBA rumors are swirling around Jeremy Lin. Thanks to a couple of great games recently, many are wondering if the Charlotte Hornets head coach Steve Clifford will promote him to the starting lineup.

According to ESPN, Clifford will not promote Lin over Kemba Walker or Courtney Lee. Clifford stated that Lin has been utilized off the bench the entire regular season, so he’s going to be in that role for the rest of the season.

Against the San Antonio Spurs last week, Jeremy Lin decided to explode. It was very reminiscent of that awesome phase that he went through with the New York Knicks that made him a global sensation. Lin notched 29 points and seven assists, which made him a trend on social media. The following night, he scored 21 points against the Brooklyn Nets. Both games were victories for the Charlotte Hornets, which created quite a bit of hype that Lin was going to be surging again.

That little surge caused a lot of fans to wonder if Jeremy Lin can consistently be an offensive force if he were given regular minutes as a starter. The Charlotte Hornets are a team that have been wanting a big star to emerge. Kemba Walker and Nicolas Batum are the two leading scorers for the Hornets, but they are far from being household names among casual NBA fans.

While many NBA fans are critical of Steve Clifford for not riding the hot hands, it makes sense that he doesn’t want to shake things up too much with the Charlotte Hornets. They are currently sitting on a 42-31 record, which places them at the sixth spot in the Eastern Conference. If the NBA Playoffs were to start today, then they would be headed towards a first round match up against the Atlanta Hawks, a series that the Hornets could win.

Even though he is coming off the bench, Jeremy Lin is still receiving more than 23 minutes a game. Though he would love to play more, like most NBA players would, the former Harvard star is satiate with being on the court and having a valuable role. Right now, Steve Clifford has him as the third guard in the rotation. He usually subs in first for Kemba Walker or Courtney Lee.

Jeremy Lin becomes a free agent again this upcoming summer. These explosive games as of late have caught the attention of NBA coaches and executives. Lin wants the league to know that he can still be a valuable contributor and deserves a good amount of money. There might even be a place in the National Basketball Association where Lin can be a starter again. At 27 years old, he can be a long term solution somewhere.

Interestingly enough, one of the teams that might be interested in Jeremy Lin is the NBA team that made him a world famous basketball player. The New York Knicks are in desperate need of an upgrade in the back court. Lin could be the guy to send Jose Calderon to the bench. His exciting style of play could be a rather interesting complement to Kristaps Porzingis. The Latvian rookie loves to soar through the air to catch alley oops.

Jeremy Lin won’t be one of the headline free agent signings in the NBA this upcoming summer. That’s more than likely going to be Kevin Durant, if he decides to walk away from the Oklahoma City Thunder. After all the big name players are off the board, then Lin will be picked up by a team in the National Basketball Association. Jeremy won’t make the big headlines, but he might still be able to make a big impact.

[Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images]