Mike Woodson all but guaranteed Jeremy Lin will return next season, but the coach stopped short of handing over the starting job.

“Jeremy’s a big part of our team. Will he start? Only time will tell,” Woodson said. “He has to recover from his knee and use the summer to work on his game to put himself in the best position possible for our ballclub.

“He has started for our team and he has played well for our basketball team. But this summer will be very pivotal for him in terms of his improvement and the future is very bright for him. Will he be back next year? Absolutely. He’s a big part of our ballclub.”

via Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News