One guy who’s happy to see Jeremy Lin get his chance to run the show in Brooklyn is former Hornets teammate Kemba Walker.
In an interview with Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer on Thursday, Walker heaped praise on his ex-backup, saying that he deserves his opportunity to start.
“I hate to see him go, but at the same time I’m definitely happy for him,” Walker said. “He deserves to be a starter in this league. He’s such a great player and he proved that last season. There were games where I was off and he carried the team.”
Walker, 26, enjoyed the best statistical season of his career in 2015-16. But Lin’s effectiveness running the second unit took much of the burden off Walker’s shoulders and was instrumental to Charlotte’s surprise sixth-seed playoff berth last year.
For Lin, who signed a three-year deal with the Nets this offseason and will get the chance to be their full-time starting point guard, his rim-attacking mentality and productivity operating out of the pick-and-roll are very much starter-caliber material. It’s great to see that Walker, who is himself becoming one of the Association’s top young point guards, thinks so too.
Image Credit: Sam Sharpe-USA TODAY Sports
H/T NBA Reddit
