With the recent Omicron COVID outbreak hitting the NBA hard, there’s one NBA-caliber player who has been fighting to make another roster: Jeremy Lin.
Saying the NBA is short-staffed is an understatement — there are over 90 players in COVID protocols right now, and there aren’t enough professional-level athletes available on short notice for teams to promote to the active roster.
Some NBA veterans are seeing more time in the sun, as the Boston Celtics have signed Joe Johnson to a ten-day contract, while the Los Angeles Lakers called up two-time All-Star Isaiah Thomas after a 42-point game with the Grand Rapids Gold.
Thomas’ Gold teammate, Lance Stephenson, who also spent a decade in the NBA, just debuted with the Atlanta Hawks on Dec. 22. In fact, 21 NBA teams currently have 10-day roster contracts signed to bolster their roster, with many of the Christmas Day teams filling up on players before Saturday.
If a 40-year-old Joe Johnson got the call, it only stands to reason that other former NBA talent playing on the fringes of the G League should have a shot at scoring again on NBA courts. One name that seems to be conspicuously missing from the lengthy list of recent signings is Jeremy Lin, whose recent resume includes a stint with the Santa Cruz Warriors with the hopes of making the leap to Golden State.
Why hasn’t the NBA called Jeremy Lin yet?
If Jeremy Lin were still with the Santa Cruz Warriors, an NBA team may have signed him away by this point — but Lin isn’t even stateside anymore.
On Nov. 30, Lin inked a deal with the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association. Lin played with the Ducks during the 2019-20 season, but he returned to California for another shot at the NBA.
At only 33 years old, Lin’s contract with the Ducks proves that he is still a talented professional player, but playing in the NBA is as competitive — and sometimes cutthroat — as it gets. When the Raptors let Lin fall to free agency in 2019, he compared it to hitting “rock bottom“, stating that he felt like the NBA had “kind of given up” on him.
Even though Lin is under contract in China, NBA fans are more than ready to bring him back for Linsanity 2.0: The Christmas Edit.
The Lin snub goes beyond needing him during a downtime for the league. Not only is Lin arguably better than many players who are currently on NBA rosters, but Daryl Morey even admitted that Lin should have been a top 10 draft pick in 2010.
Lin may already be in China, but it still needs to be said: tell the Knicks to sign him.