Jeremy Lin Impressing Veteran Steve Nash in Early Lakers Training Camp

Los Angeles Lakers guard Jeremy Lin — As usual, media frenzy followed Jeremy Lin in L.A. The Asian-American star will battle 40-year-old Steve Nash for the starting point guard spot with the Lakers. Reuters

It’s just scrimmage, it’s just practice but Jeremy Lin is already making a positive impression on the Los Angeles Lakers veterans particularly fellow point guard Steve Nash.

Any positive vibes is welcome in the Lakers training camp after struggling majority of the 2013-2014 NBA season. The 40-year-old Canadian Nash complimented the 26-year-old Asian-American Lin who has shown flashes of brilliance previously with the New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets.

“He gets to the basket. He can really get in there at the rim cause problems, create fouls,” the veteran Nash said via Lakers Nation of Lin, who is battling for the starting PG spot, against Nash no less, with the new season starting in roughly under a month.

Jordan Clarkson, who is considered a steal in the 2nd round of the 2014 NBA Draft, is the third point guard in the line-up. Both Lin and Clarkson are of Asian descent; Lin from Chinese-Taipei and Clarkson from the Philippines.

The Lakers went 27-55 in the regular season last year, their worst performance in decades for the proud franchise.

Lin’s penetration prowess plus potent outside shooting which stretches to behind the three-point line was prominent in Lin’s rise in the NBA. The “Linsanity” hype is over but Lin has settled in as a legit rotation player both with the Knicks and Rockets.

Meanwhile, Nash is coming of what can be considered the worst of his career mainly due to injuries that has hampered him the last season.

Nash’s value to the team is more than stats now as the Canadian is expected to be the mentor to the younger PGs in the line-up; Lin or even Clarkson could steal the minutes from him, but Nash is more than willing to give them that along with the proper way of playing the 1-position in the team.

Lin was traded to the Lakers by the Rockets in the 2014 offseason. While many have considered him to be “just an expiring contract” for L.A., the Lakers brass believe that he will play a major role for the Lakers in the new NBA season.

Lin averaged 12.9 points and 5.1 assists in two seasons with the Rockets.

Watch the Lakers 5-on-5 scrimmage here: