Jeremy Lin isn't only being looked out by New York, if the Knicks go with Steve Nash over him, however you could see five other teams go after him.
All of these teams I will mention will look at Lin if their first option is gone in free agency. Lin would surely put fans in the seats with his performance from last year.
He also looks like a solid scoring point guard who could easily become a star in this league when his other tools of his game are redefined. If Lin were to somehow slip through New York's hands, it could get real interesting in July.
Toronto Raptors
Toronto needs an upgrade badly at point guard and Lin could surely fix that. Having Lin will also help the Raptors bring some fans back since the Chris Bosh era. Toronto was 17th in attendance this season and Lin will vault that up.
On the court, he would form a nice duo with Andrea Bargnani. Toronto would continue to be bottom feeders in their division though until all the other teams somehow have catastrophic injuries.
Dallas Mavericks
Dallas is all-in on the Deron Williams sweepstakes. They plan to become the immediate favorites for his services if he doesn't re-sign with the Brooklyn Nets. If they can't land Williams, Lin would be a nice second-option.
The Mavericks have Jason Kidd as a free agent and plans to retire if he isn't re-signed by them. That opens the door up for plan B in Lin. Dirk Nowitzki would have a speedy guard in Lin that could be one of the top five in the Western Conference.
Portland Trail Blazers
Portland is a nice option for Lin. He could easily beat out Jonny Flynn and Nolan Smith for the starting job and could flourish right away in the Rose Garden. Lin on the west coast would be an interesting storyline as well.
Golden State Warriors
Golden State would only bring Lin back to be the 6th man. This immediately takes them out of the race. Lin will take nothing less than a starting role in my opinion. The Warriors won't be benching Stephen Curry any time soon.
Brooklyn Nets
Finally, we have now we have the in-state rival Brooklyn Nets. The only way Brooklyn will go after Lin is if they fail to bring back Deron Williams. Failing to bring back Williams would likely dash their chances at getting Dwight Howard, unless of he wants to play with Lin.
What an unlikely, but successful duo that would be. Lin would be brought an as an emergency back up plan. Their focused solely on bringing back Williams and selling him on Brooklyn.
Conclusion
My verdict on the whole Linsanity free agency version is that he will wind up back with the Knicks. Whoever wants a piece of Lin better pay a steep price, there is no way he leaves New York without a lot of cash.
Evan Sidery is a beat writer for FootBasket. He is a fan of the Colts and Pacers. You can see more about him by following him on Twitter.
