Jeremy Lin said he thinks he can slide over and play shooting guard next to Patrick Beverley. "I feel like we can play together," Lin said. "[Beverley] can shoot the ball. He plays great defense with the way he hounds the ball. I can slide off to the two-spot - we're interchangeable." James Harden could see 40 minutes per game at shooting guard, so it's a bit of a moot point. However, the talk of Lin moving to shooting guard illustrates the threat Beverley poses to usurp the starting point guard job. Lin is still a very good bet to win that job, but he'll have to be on his game to keep it.

Jeremy Lin has continued this offseason on smoothing out his 3-point shot. Incorporating more lift from his legs, Lin said he's developed a "more natural" shooting motion. With a 33.2 career 3-point percentage, Lin still has room for improvement beyond the arc. He made 1.1 triples last season on a career-best 33.9 percent from downtown.

Jeremy Lin is optimistic that he and Dwight Howard will develop chemistry as a pick-and-roll duo. "[Dwight] really likes to play pick-and-roll and I really like to play pick-and-roll," Lin said, "so I hope we can work really well together." Dwight averaged an excellent 1.3 points per possession as a roll-man with the Lakers last season. The Rockets were No. 2 in pick-and-roll efficiency, but they ran half as many as L.A. and the possessions were dominated by James Harden and Chandler Parsons--even Patrick Beverley ran more than Lin.

Jeremy Lin said that the Rockets' "coaches were losing faith in [him]" last season. "I was supposed to save Houston basketball," Lin said to a crowd of 20,000 in Taiwan. "I became so obsessed with becoming a great basketball player . trying to be Linsanity, being this phenomenon that took the NBA by storm." The positive side is that he averaged 13.4 points, 1.1 threes, 3.0 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game last year, while shooting 44.1 percent from the field, and he now has Dwight Howard rather than Omer Asik as a target in the paint.

Jeremy Lin has had a completely healthy offseason.

The Rockets are working on a sign-and-trade for Josh Smith in exchange for Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin. The Rockets don't appear to be done yet and they're going for the jugular in their efforts to make a splash this offseason. The Hawks seem unlikely to retain Smith, so getting back two starters could do more harm than good. Smith would be a nice fit with the uptempo Rockets and would potentially start with Patrick Beverly, James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Dwight Howard. Of course, there will be more to this story and there's some interest in Jose Calderon. Stay tuned.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey said that he is not trying to trade Jeremy Lin or Omer Asik, contrary to previous reports. "[Dwight Howard] wants the best team possible and is interested in how we plan to do that," said Morey, after meeting with the prized free agent. "Omer with Dwight would give us the best [centers] in the league in combination. Jeremy is an attacking guard, great in pick-and-roll, a great fit for Dwight." Houston has also met with Josh Smith, who could be an option even if Dwight Howard comes to town, and it's safe to say that (despite Morey's protests) everyone but James Harden is tradeable.

The Rockets are shopping Jeremy Lin according to Mark Deeks of Sham Sports. Deeks adds that he'll be hard to move, which is understandable given his larger than normal contract for a guy that still has some question marks. We're not expecting imminent action on this, but it's something to file away for later.

If the Rockets convince Dwight Howard to sign with them this summer, they may attempt a sign-and-trade sending Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik to L.A. We'll dub this "informed speculation," as Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne report that "the threat of the James Harden-led Rockets signing Howard away from L.A. is very real ... which means the Lakers will eventually be getting a sign-and-trade pitch from Houston." The Rockets' end goal would be teaming Howard with Chris Paul, a pie-in-the-sky scenario which we won't delve into further.

Jeremy Lin revealed that he wouldn't mind coming off the bench next season if he plays the right "role." Lin cited Jarrett Jack as an example of a bench player who plays starter's minutes, but it's clear Lin doesn't want to become an afterthought or backup in Houston. "I don't think your role is limited to starting or coming off the bench," he said. "So it just depends." According to CSN Houston, there are "no signs that Lin is headed to the bench."