The Houston Rockets are not wasting any time in their effort to clear the necessary cap space to both sign Chris Bosh and retain Chandler Parsons, having already agreed to a trade which will send backup point guard Jeremy Lin to the Los Angeles Lakers.
In addition to Lin, the Rockets will also give up a 2015 first-round draft pick and a future second-round pick. The Lakers will send the rights to an unknown overseas player in return, according to Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski:
The Lakers will send cash and rights to overseas player to the Rockets, but no salary back, league source tells Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) July 11, 2014
While Philadelphia had been previously mentioned as a likely landing place for Lin, Los Angeles is also ideal. The Lakers will add future assets and a very strong player to their rotation without having to commit any long-term salary cap space. Lin’s contract, which expires after next season, will count $8.37 million against the cap in 2014-15.
Last season, the 25-year-old Lin averaged 12.5 points and 4.1 assists per game while playing 29 minutes per game.
Lin was signed by the Rockets as a restricted free agent two years ago. He left the New York Knicks, when the Knicks did not match the offer following the “Linsanity” season.
The Lakers also have Steve Nash returning for one more season, though given his recent injury issues and his age, the number of games and minutes he can play is very much up in the air. Lin provides the Lakers with insurance at the point guard spot. (SIA Profile)
For more on sports injury news, check out our friends at Sports Injury Alert.
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