Lakers trade for Jeremy Lin
The Houston Rockets have agreed to trade guard Jeremy Lin and a future first-round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers, a league source told ESPN's Jeff Goodman.
The Lakers were amenable to this deal, according to sources, because Lin is only under contract for one more season, thus preserving their cap space next summer. They also covet draft picks, after trading away their first-round picks in 2015 and 2017 to Phoenix and Orlando as part of the Steve Nash and Dwight Howard trades, respectively.
Lin, in the midst of a basketball tour in Asia, will fly from China to Los Angeles, arriving on Saturday to undergo a team physical with the Lakers to make the trade official.
The Lakers had been eyeing Lin for quite some time, according to Lin's agent, Roger Montgomery, after the undrafted guard out of Harvard made his impressive summer league debut in 2010.
"They had interest a few years ago when he was in the summer league and signed with Golden State," Montgomery told ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin on Friday. "The Lakers were one of three teams that we were talking with, so they did have interest then. If you've been following the NBA, you know it's a very fluid league, so Jeremy is still playing, he's played well throughout his tenure thus far and I think that the Lakers, just like a lot of other teams, have interest and have had interest."
Lin will become the fourth point guard on the Lakers' roster along with Steve Nash, rookie Jordan Clarkson and Kendall Marshall (whose contract is nonguaranteed).
"I think Jeremy is excited and thrilled about the opportunity," Montgomery said. "It's been a lot of speculation about, 'Is he going to stay? Is he going to leave?' And I think landing in Los Angeles is a really cool opportunity for him for a number of reasons."
The Rockets, seeking salary cap relief, made a maximum offer to center Chris Bosh of four years, $88 million, but came up empty as he agreed to a deal to return to the Miami Heat on a five-year, $118 million contract, sources confirmed to ESPN.
The Rockets had intended to match the Dallas Mavericks' three-year, $46 million offer sheet to restricted free agent Chandler Parsons after signing Bosh, a source told ESPNDallas.com. But with Bosh heading back to Miami, their plans are now up in the air.
The Philadelphia 76ers had expressed a willingness to trade for Lin depending on what sort of assets Houston is willing to attach to the deal, sources close to the process told ESPN recently.
ESPN.com's Marc Stein, ESPN.com's Ramona Shelburne, ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard and ESPNLosAngeles.com's Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.
