NBA: Jeremy Lin opts in to $12.5 million player option for 2018-19

It looks as though the effects of the last two weeks in the NBA are starting to trickle down into the decision-making processes for NBA players.

After Lou Williams signed an extension that caught many off guard — and as many teams were rumored to be interested in shedding salary during Thursday’s trade deadline — Brooklyn Nets point guard Jeremy Lin reportedly decided to opt into his $12.5 million player option for the 2018-19 NBA season.

That is a hefty chunk of change for the 29-year-old Lin, who could have been expecting a big payday moving into the summer of 2018. That would not have been entirely unexpected. Lin has continued to develop his game and was slated to be one of Brooklyn’s most important players this season before rupturing his patella tendon in the first game of the year. Lin next contract would have probably also been the final large contract of his career.

But alas, with Williams signing for less money and the slate of supporting players getting mega deals as they have the past couple of seasons now on the horizon behind us, Lin likely wanted to keep as much money in his pocket as he could.

With that salary Lin might be a little harder to move via trade as opposed to a guy like Williams, but he will also bolster a Nets team that could use him when he returns next season.

Despite the salary cap remaining above $100 million for the foreseeable future, it seems like we are about to see quite a few players take less than we expect in the summer of 2018.

(NBC)