The new Brooklyn Nets are finally getting down to business — and the moment of truth, or at least the beginning of it, is at hand for Jeremy Lin. Lin’s unique NBA journey is well known. It’s been a tantalizing tale of what ifs, sprinkled with a plenty of see thats? to fuel the Linsanity fire. In Brooklyn Lin’s journey continues, but he’s no longer a journeyman, wandering the NBA looking for his minutes and a coach’s faith. Now he’s got both. What will he do with them? That’s what Brooklyn and the world are waiting to see.
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Lin is finally a starter at his preferred position, point guard. Lin’s coach Kenny Atkinson has said he wants his point guard to be the quarterback of the team, “like Eli Manning.” Those are big, two-time Super Bowl champion New York shoes to fill, but Lin has been waiting and training and working for his moment. It’s here — the 2016-17 Brooklyn Nets are Lin’s team. Fans will be able to measure how he’s doing in more ways than just the box scores and the win/loss column. If media coverage about Lin’s race and his various hairstyles — catnip for the casual fan — start disappearing and the lion’s share of coverage finds its focus on basketball, Lin will be doing the job Brooklyn is giving him $36 million over three years to do: that is, to somehow fashion a contender out of this perennial also-ran.
