Jeremy Lin: Mike Woodson Says Lin Will Be Back With Knicks Next Season

Lin will be a restricted free agent as of July 1 but it sounds like the Knicks are intending to bring him back for at least one more year.

Woodson spoke to reporters on Thursday before he conducted exit interviews with Knicks players. The team was bounced from the playoffs in five games by the Miami Heat earlier this week.

Although Lin averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists per game as the Knicks starting point guard this season, Woodson would not commit to him as the starter for next year.

Jeremy's a big part of our team, Woodson said. Will he start? Only time will tell. He's got to recover from his knee [injury] and use this summer to really work on his game to put himself in the best possible position for our ballclub . . . This summer will be pivotal in terms of his improvement. Will he be back next year? Absolutely.

The Harvard graduate set the NBA on fire in February when he came from out of nowhere to score twenty points in six straight games for the Knicks. He blossomed into an effective starter before a nagging knee injury forced him to get surgery that ended his season six weeks ago.

The Knicks likely don't want to commit to Lin as there is a crop of veteran point guards who will likely be available this offseason including Steve Nash, Raymond Felton or Jason Kidd.