BEIJING, Feb. 12 (Xinhua) -- Jeremy Lin has finalized a buyout with Atlanta Hawks and will join the Toronto Raptors, the veteran guard announced on Weibo on Tuesday.
"Thanks to the Hawks for giving me a chance. After two injury-plagued years, you helped me regain the happiness of playing basketball," Lin wrote on his Weibo, a Chinese equivalent of Twitter.
"For basketball, I still have dreams, time, strength, faith and you guys," he continued, using the hashtag WeTheNorth and mentioning the Toronto Raptors at the end of the post.
The 30-year-old came to prominence in 2012 when he led the struggling New York Knicks to an unexpected upturn in fortunes and earned the nickname Linsanity. However, injury problems limited his playing time for the Knicks, and later the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets. He has career averages of 11.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists in 25.8 minutes per game.
The signing of Lin will further consolidate the Raptors' squad which has been strengthened by the arrival of three-time All-Star center Marc Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies on the trade deadline day.
The Raptors now sit second in the Eastern Conference, one game behind leaders Milwaukee Bucks.
