Jeremy Lin Returns Home With the Warriors

UPDATED 12:13 a.m.

Former Harvard co-captain Jeremy Lin concluded a long and unlikely journey to the NBA this afternoon when he signed a multiyear contract with the Golden State Warriors.

Although the Warriors did not release the terms of the agreement, Lin’s agent Roger Montgomery confirmed with The Crimson this morning that Lin will receive a multi-year deal with at least half of his rookie contract—estimated at $500,000—in guaranteed money. It has also been reported that the second year of Lin’s deal will be a team option.

Lin is not only the first Harvard player since Edward Smith ’51 to sign an NBA contract, but the first Asian American, since Rex Walters finished his career in 2000 with the Miami Heat.

Lin, a native of Palo Alto, Calif., grew up a Warriors fan and played high school basketball just 28 miles from Warriors’ Oracle Arena in Oakland.

“This is a dream come true,” Lin told Tim Roye of Warriors.com following his signing. “Obviously playing in the NBA would have been a dream come true but this was really a dream come true because this was obviously the team I grew up cheering for and it’s the one team I really, really wanted to play for.”

Lin settled on the Warriors after weighing offers from the defending-champion Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks—the team that Lin played for during July’s NBA summer league.

The Mavericks were the first team to reach out to Lin after the point guard went undrafted in June’s 2010 NBA draft. Before the conclusion of the draft, Dallas general manager Donnie Nelson reportedly called Lin to offer him a spot on the Mavericks’ summer league roster.

Lin took the offer, and in five games with Dallas, Lin was able to draw attention to himself from the rest of the NBA after an impressive summer league performance in which he averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.2 steals in 19 minutes per game.

While the Mavericks made Lin an offer at the conclusion of summer league, Lin opted to sign with his hometown team.

“It was obviously tough [to turn down Dallas] with what Donnie Nelson did for me,” Lin said in an intervew with The Crimson on Wednesday. “It was tough, but I knew that [playing for Golden State] was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.”

Lin said the factors that made him choose the Warriors were “the combination of the current roster, the style of play, the location, and the terms of the contract.”

At a press conference following his signing in Oakland, Calif. at 11 a.m. PST today, Lin said that he is not "really worried" about the pressure of playing in front of a hometown crowd.

"I’m just going to play my game and see where that takes me. And I’m not worried about filling shoes or meeting other people’s expectations," Lin said. "That’s never how I’ve approached the game.”

Having played the vast majority of his college games over 3,000 miles from his hometown of Palo Alto, Calif., Lin does not have much experience playing before a vast crowd of family, friends, and supporters.

When Harvard visited Santa Clara during Lin’s senior season, Lin did not exactly have a career performance. While he finished with a season-high nine assists, he scored just six points on two-of-five shooting—his second lowest offensive output of the season—in front of a sold-out crowd.

“I’ve never really had a game with more support than this game in my entire life,” Lin said following the Jan. 4 contest. “That made me real nervous.”

This will be something that Lin will have to get over quickly if he hopes to crack the Warriors’ rotation. While Golden State has just three other backcourt players under contract as of now for the upcoming NBA season, the Warriors have room to sign three more players before they reach the roster maximum and could be looking to sign at least one more guard.

While Golden State’s starting backcourt is shored up behind Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry, Lin could fill in as a backup in his rookie season.

“I think it’s too early [to speculate about playing time],” Lin said. “I am just going to go into training camp and see what happens.”

This coming fall’s training camp and preseason will be Lin’s last test before the Golden State coaching staff makes a final decision on its regular season roster.

If things do not go Lin’s way, he could end up spending time in the NBA Development League with Reno Bighorns, the minor league affiliate of the Warriors.

But in the coming weeks leading up to the Warriors’ training camp, Lin plans on doing everything he can to make sure he keeps his spot on the Golden State roster. The two biggest things Lin hopes to work on in the remaining summer months are his shooting and his strength.

“From my point of view, I’m ready to go,” Lin said. “I’m ready to play. I’m thankful the Warriors are giving me that opportunity.”