16. Jeremy Lin, Brooklyn Nets
Is Jeremy Lin the most talented point guard in the league? No, but the change of scenery is what he needed, and what he needed, even more, was to be a go-to guy for his new team. With Brooklyn, Lin and Brook Lopez are going to jockey back-and-forth as being the number one option, and Linsanity has proven that he can be effective when he has the ball in his hands.
When he broke out with the Knicks in 2011-12, Lin’s success was due to the organization allowing him to make plays, and he posted a career-high usage percentage of 28.1–he also posted over 14 points and six assists in just under 27 minutes per game. While he’s not the most efficient scorer, the aggressiveness is there, and Lin hasn’t shown a reluctance when it comes to shooting. Charlotte utilized that energy and used him to spark plug their offense and defense as the sixth man.
He can get to–and finish around–the basket and his mid-range shot is good enough to make the defender think twice about going under a screen. Then there’s his passing ability, which is going to allow the Harvard-alum to rack up a ton of assists as he does a majority of the creating.
Next: No. 10