It's still just the preseason, but the early returns on Jeremy Lin with the Charlotte Hornets have been promising.
Lin was one of the more unheralded signings of the offseason and his arrival in Charlotte did little to truly energize the fan base, but he has been a steady performer thus far.
After Charlotte's Wednesday night win over the Detroit Pistons, Lin has upped his preseason scoring average up to 15.33 points per game, and he has tallied a total of 36 points through his two most recent contests, according to ESPN.
Lin has also been showing off other aspects of his game well in the preseason, posting impressive highs of eight rebounds against the Chicago Bulls and seven assists against the Orlando Magic that he recorded during his first outing of the preseason.
According to the Charlotte Observer's Scott Fowler, part of why Lin has been successful thus far in the preseason has been his on-court chemistry with running mate Kemba Walker.
Even though the two are nominally point guards, they have managed to share the floor successfully, with Lin sliding over to the two guard spot in lineups featuring both of the playmakers.
As promising as Lin's early returns with the Hornets have been thus far, there was a chance in the offseason that he may have ended up elsewhere.
According to the New York Daily News, Lin reportedly had interest in re-upping with his former team, the New York Knicks, during the preseason. Lin's agent then reached out to the Knicks in the hopes of making a deal, only for the team to turn him down.
Even though Lin did not end up with the Knicks, he still came out of the offseason with a two-year $4.3 million deal with the Hornets that should provide him with ample opportunity to prove his ability and another chance to jump into the free agent market sooner rather than later in the hopes of snagging a bigger money deal.
