With his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers officially expired, Jeremy Lin stressed that his main priority heading into the free-agency period is to find a ballclub where he can fit in and contribute consistently.

After becoming an overnight star in New York that led him to sign a lucrative three-year, $25 million deal with the Houston Rockets and a stint with the Lakers, the 26-year old Lin is once again searching for a place he can call home.

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Lin, whose up-and-down season with the Lakers ended prematurely due to soreness in his surgically-repaired left knee, isn't ruling out another stint with the purple-and-gold despite a tumultuous year. However, he also stressed that he's looking for a place where he can click in right away.

"The best place that I can fit in." Lin told Bleacher Report writer Kevin Ding about his plans this coming summer. "I don't know where I'm going to be next year, but never say never. I would definitely keep this open. It's not like this is last resort."

After getting the starting nod at training camp, Lin lost his starting job to veteran Ronnie Price 20 games into his Lakers career due to inconsistency and what Lakers head coach Byron Scott called lack of toughness. Lin spent the next three months playing limited minutes off the bench, but a one-week break from basketball put him in position to pull off a string of strong games.

"I care very, very much about my job," Lin said the importance of his one-week vacation that spurred his best run of the season. "And it hurt. When you're in it and you're trying to figure everything out and you're trying so hard every day, sometimes the best thing to do is actually not to try and just to get away a little bit."

Lin eventually got another shot to start alongside budding rookie Jordan Clarkson with 14 games left in the season, but an upper respiratory infection and then soreness in his left knee forced the Lakers medical staff to shut down Lin for the remainder of the season.

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