"Linsanity" has come to the Brooklyn Nets. Earlier this month, star point guard Jeremy Lin signed a three-year, $36-million contract to play in Brooklyn, raising hopes that he will be an integral part of the NBA team's turnaround next season.
At a news conference on Wednesday, Lin said he wants to play a "bigger role" in rebuilding the Nets, who are coming off a 21-61 season.
"I met with my agents and family and close friends and they said what do you want, and I said I want to see how good I can be," Lin said, as quoted by ESPN. "I have played a lot of different roles; I have sacrificed for a lot of teams that I have been on in the past and I have taken on smaller roles to try to help the team succeed.
"Now I have that chance to take a much bigger role and be a much bigger part. It is no surprise to anybody if you look at the numbers in my whole career, when I have the ball in my hands, when I play longer minutes, when I am more comfortable, when I am empowered, I play better. And I am hoping I can take that next step as a player and hoping that I can help this team grow," he added.
Lin, who was sporting a new hairstyle when he faced the press, said he wants to make his teammates in the Brooklyn Nets better, and to "make the game easier for everybody."
Lin further said he is in "a much, much different place mentally as a person" now compared to when he was part of the New York Knicks, when the so-called "Linsanity" phenomenon exploded. At that time, the basketball player averaged nearly 24 points a game to go along with nine assists.
Now that he is with the Nets, Lin said he will just play as he normally would.
"I will be myself, but I don't really draw too many comparisons to Linsanity the phenomenon. I am just going to keep playing. People will always kind of compare me to that. In a lot of ways, not in a negative way or a way that I am offended, but it kind of dehumanises me to refer to me as a phenomenon," the popular point guard said.
"I am going to be here, keep playing my game, do the best that I can and whatever you guys want to call it, that is up to you guys," he added.
