2. Lin is overall a better PG compared to Beverley, especially with regard to court view and leading/encouraging teammates.
3. Lin apparently loved to continue to be a starter. The 6th Man role is not what he originally wanted/expected.
4. It's no doubt a remarkable sacrifice made by Lin for the team to fade from the starting lineup and begin to function as a 6th Man. But, the bottom line is it's not a penalty or insult to him. Not at all.
5. The fact is this new rotation releases more freedom for Lin for controlling the ball and also let him play more minutes. So it’s actually not a bad way to go for him to make significant contributions to the team.
6. To be realistic, the new rotation may arguably be the best solution for maximizing the team's benefits in current coach's system.
7. The whole NBA community all knows/understands what's happening with Rockets and Lin. So, Lin's new role will not damage his reputation to any degrees.
8. It is a big promotion for sure for Beverley to replace Lin in the Rockets starting lineup. What brought him to current position included Harden's willing, his own play style and energy, and his impressive performance during the last playoffs - so far many Lin fans even haven't realized how much it meant for Lin to have missed those important playoff games.
9. I believe there must be certain coaches available in NBA who are able to work out a suitable system allowing both Harden and Lin to play together very well as starters. Unfortunately, the current Rockets head coach Kevin McHale is obviously not such a one.
10. It might also be true that McHale even didn't design a clear 6th Man role for Lin in the first place. In other words, everything Lin has on hand now is earned by himself. ** I borrowed this point from XueHua MM and so I need to give her a credit :))
11. I don't think Rockets have ever been close to make a decision to trade Lin – not by now nor during the summer, but this doesn't necessarily mean they will never trade him. Everything may happen in the NBA business. So the players really can’t do much in this regard. The only thing they can do which may make a difference is to keep themselves in a great status and maintain a high level performance.
12. A trade itself may or may not be good for Lin at this moment, depending on what a new team he can join and what a new role he can play. What we need to keep in mind is it is Lin's ultimate goal in the 2013~2014 season to show up in the playoffs and become a completely proven NBA player.