NBA Rumors: Warriors Fail To Secure FIBA Clearance For Lin; Return Delayed Anew

The plans of Jeremy Lin to make a successful return to the NBA has hit a major snag.

The Golden State Warriors failed to secure the letter of clearance for the 32-year-old in time from FIBA, altering their plans of the American-Asian.

According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, the Warriors were planning a sign-and-waive deal before 11:00 p.m. last Dec. 20. Unfortunately, they were unable to get the clearance from FIBA after Lin played in China last season.

With this in mind, Shams Charania responded through sources that the Letter of Clearance from FIBA did not arrive on time. Instead, the Dubs ended up signing and waiving Elijah Pemberton.

The free agent from Hofstra University will play for the Warriors G-League affiliate Santa Cruz.

It was a major setback for the 6-foot-3 guard who is determined to make an NBA return. The good news is that the Warriors are leaving the door open for Lin to fulfill his NBA return dream.

However, he may have to go directly to the G-League assuming he is willing to do so, per sources cited by Stein.

Last Dec. 19, news broke out that Lin was finalizing a deal to return to the Warriors pending a letter of clearance from FIBA. Lin would respond to that post of Charania, saying that it was not what it looked like and that no decisions have been made.

With these developments, it will be interesting what "Linsanity" will do next. Though he may have temporarily failed to hook up with the Warriors, he is unlikely to give up.

Lin does have an option to via the G-League route. Hence, he may have to decide on whether to do that or return to the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

It is no secret that the Beijing Ducks want Lin back next CBA season. In a previous post, it was mentioned how the franchise was trying to convince him to give up on his NBA dream and return to the team.

Only time will tell if Lin considers that offer. He could try his luck in the G-League first before giving up. In all, the Ducks or any CBA team after him may have to wait until he gives up his NBA return dream.