My "editorial" on Lin, Nets front office. Make of it what you will.
Nets front office thinks REAL injury updates are not something to share with fans.
But IMO, if you're gonna exploit Lin in marketing, you owe it to Lin/Nets fans to be more upfront about injuries.
For example, does anybody know when debut of what I think is future All-Star Caris LeVert is? No
Nets love using Lin to gain Taiwan/China sponsorships and to sell tickets.
But Lin fans who've never been Nets fans want to know SOME idea of when he will be back. Some Lin fans haven't yet embraced the team. So many Lin fans wanna go to a Nets game when Lin is playing. That's just reality for Lin fan-based nomads who've followed him with 4 prior teams and now Nets.
But here's what Lin fans are forced to accept as "info", via Newsday's very good beat writer Greg Logan:
"Ok, .@JLin7 fans, update is no update. #KennyAtkinson sd #Lin has been re-evaluated & is "progressing on schedule." What schedule? Dont ask."
"Watched .@JLin7 stretch & go through rehab exercises for hammy after shootaround. Had to leave as he was beginning to shoot. Getting closer."
"But since .@JLin7 is not required to talk to media again until he practices fully, that tells you he's not part of team practices."
When has Lin EVER not talked to media. He isn't talking because super secretive Nets front office has told him not to talk because they know HE will talk about his injury.
I'm not one to advocate that team front offices are required to reveal everything. But this front office, which by the way I GREATLY admire for it's vision and it's signing of players, is way more secretive than need be.
The cynic in me, call him #EvilNathan, thinks Nets withhold Lin info to sell tickets. And I know many Lin followers of me on Twitter want to buy, and have bought, tickets for up and coming games because they want to see Lin.
But again, Nets are not obligated by NBA to provide more than the absolute minimum of info on player injuries.
While I admire virtually everything the Nets front office has done, I feel they're doing Lin fans a disservice by refusing to even given parameters of a time frame when Lin returns, so Lin fans who want to buy tickets to see him have no reasonable info.
I'm 100% behind Nets training staff waiting until Lin is healthy to play him. Lin is HUGE part of this team's chance not only to make playoffs--however faint writers give them a chance--but also to be big part of helping in developing young players through his great PG skills.
I've said many times, I believe this young developing team with many new faces, including veterans, will start to gel in January and be the kind of high risk low reward team nobody wants to face.
Am I asking too much to get better insight into when Lin will return?