Update (and headline change):
Just going up on ESPN online: Sources say Knicks, as expected, have claimed Jeremy Lin off waivers. Link on way
That didn't take long! I'm pretty pleased with this move.
From ESPN's Marc Stein:
Jeremy Lin's second NBA season could resume this week, because the popular guard clears waivers Tuesday at 10 AM ET, according to a league source.
The fact that Lin's salary for this season ($788,872) is not guaranteed makes it much easier for any interested team to put in a waiver claim on the former Harvard star and take what amounts to a no-risk look at him.
Two teams that have expressed interest in adding Lin to their rosters, according to sources, are the New York Knicks and the Golden State Warriors ... although in Golden State's case word is that only applies if Lin clears waivers.
I'll first confess to having seen very little of Lin since his mythic duel with John Wall in Vegas Summer League '10. Actually, let's take a look at that, shall we?
Mmm. Lin's a head-first scoring guard and not the ablest of defenders (Wall, for the record, torched Lin often in that Vegas game), but, to my eye, he makes a few passes in the above video that we've never seen Toney Douglas make ever, not even against Summer League competition. His numbers from last season's limited burn (an assist rate of 41.58, for instance) are nothing to snoot at either. Then again, it's five in the morning and I just ate roughly nineteen cookies, so perhaps I'm not much of a judge.
Anyway, if Lin does become available, I certainly wouldn't be opposed to the Knicks giving him a spin. Remember that Lin's clearing waivers isn't a sure thing (though by the time a lot of y'all read this, it'll be determined one way or the other), and also bear in mind that the Warriors, if seriously interested, would likely be most appealing to Lin's Palo Alto-hailing self. His previous deal with Golden State was not the most lucrative one available at the time, though it's possible that his preferences could have changed since the Warriors waived him a couple weeks ago.
I'm getting way too into this. I ought to cut myself off and put myself to bed before I say something silly about Lin's jump shot being a couple dozen Phil Weber training sessions away from being a major weapon.