It's been a rough season for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The 16-time NBA champions are just 16-42. At the rate they are going, they will lose 59 games, surpassing the franchise record of 55 losses set last season. Not having Kobe Bryant doesn't exactly help, either.

Fortunately for the Lakers, they will have a lot of salary cap space opening up next season.

One of the biggest reasons is because Steve Nash is set to become a free agent. Odds are Nash will retire, but the Lakers still have other big decisions to make on their younger players. One of the players with an expiring contract (see list below) is point guard Jeremy Lin.

Lin isn't having his most productive season, but he's been on fire lately since the All-Star break. Over the course of the last nine games, Lin is shooting 50 percent from the field while scoring more than 13 points per game, despite playing less than 25 minutes a night. Lin is also making 75 percent of his free throws during this stretch. It's not exactly "Linsanity" like we saw with the New York Knicks, but it's pretty impressive considering the roster he is playing with.

Lin leads the Lakers in assists this season with 262, 171 more than any other active player on the squad. Again, he hasn't exactly been Magic Johnson this season for the Lakers, but he's doing the best he can with a below-average supporting cast. Owner Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak will have to decide this offseason whether or not they want to re-sign Lin.

The Lakers are projected to have at least $40 million in cap space to spend. Obviously the Lakers will look to rebuild and reload with that money. One of the big upcoming free agent point guard names is Rajon Rondo. If Rondo does not re-sign with the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers will definitely make a run at him. The upcoming draft is exactly point guard driven, so the Lakers will most likely focus on Rondo or Goran Dragic in free agency.

If the Lakers can't get their hands on either of those two high-profile names, they may want to consider re-signing Lin for a much lower contract than he is currently on now. Lin is familiar with Byron Scott's system, and he will only improve with more experience as time goes on.

Still just 26 years old, Lin has great upside. Although he lacks consistency, Lin has shown he can take over games with his dual threat scoring and passing abilities. Obviously, Lin isn't as talented as Rondo, but he will certainly cost less next season thus saving the Lakers salary cap space. The Lakers know they have to make a big splash in free agency this offseason and surround their current players with better talent.

Lin certainly won't be the driving force to the Lakers 17th NBA championship next season, but he can help if the Lakers revamp their squad. Giving Lin a reliable perimeter shooter and a big man down low could make the Lakers an interesting team next year.

Lakers 2015 Free Agents

Steve Nash
Jeremy Lin
Carlos Boozer
Ronnie Price
Wesley Johnson
Wayne Ellington

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