The Denver Nuggets have shipped point guard Ty Lawson and a 2017 second- round pick to Houston. The Nuggets receive a package of players. These include the non-guaranteed contract of forward Kostas Papanikolaou, partially guaranteed contract of veteran guard Pablo Prigioni, as well as the full contracts of Joey Dorsey and Nick Johnson. The Nuggets also receive the Rockets 2016 first round-pick. Was this a good deal for Denver?
Ty Lawson was originally drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves 18th overall in the 2009 NBA draft. His rights were traded to Denver. In his first full year he started in 8 games while averaging 8.3 points and 3.1 assists per game. Not a bad rookie year for him. The 2011-2012 season is when Ty Lawson became the starting point guard of the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 16.4 points and 6.6 assists per game. His best numbers came in 2015. Lawson averaged 17.6 points and 8.8 assists per game. During his time with the Nuggets, they made the playoffs 4 times but they were all first-round playoff exits.
Ty Lawson is a respectable point guard in the game. The problem with him has been his off the court issues. In August of 2013, Lawson was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. That charge was later dismissed. In January of this year he was arrested for DUI in Denver. He was driving 61 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone and rejected taking a sobriety test. For that Lawson had several consequences including being ordered not to drink alcohol. Last week he was arrested on the suspicion driving under the influence in L.A. Lawson will spend a month at a Malibu rehab center. Once he is finished with his time in drug rehabilitation, a Denver judge ordered him to receive continuous alcohol monitoring.
Besides his run-in’s with the law he has had a questionable commitment to the Nuggets. This season he didn’t show up to the first practice after the NBA-All Star break in February. Lawson hasn’t used social media wisely. Those made the organization wonder how committed he was to the Nuggets.
According to ESPN, Lawson’s agent Happy Walters said, “He’s close with James [Harden], tight with Corey [Brewer], knows Trevor [Ariza] and Dwight [Howard] and is real excited. It’s an opportunity for him. He’s been deep in the playoffs before, but this is something he feels really good about.”
This was a move that had to be made for the Denver Nuggets. The Rockets have a point guard who will help them in the playoffs. The Nuggets wanted to get something in return for Ty Lawson since they couldn’t trust him off the court. The players who they received for him may not suit up for Denver but receiving a first round pick is huge. This could be a starter on the 2016-17 team.
What do you think of the trade the Nuggets made?
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