Lawson traded to Rockets
- Jul 21, 2015
- 2 min read
Ty Lawson has been traded from the Denver Nuggets to the Houston Rockets for a package of role players and a second round protected draft pick. The trade marks the end of a near 2-month long saga which saw Lawson tweet "I told you I'm heading to Sacramento". Following his second DUI within the space of a year, it has become apparent that the Nuggets coaching staff and management are no longer interested in retaining the 27 year old point guard.
Lawson averaged 15.3 points and 9.5 assists over the course of the 2014-15 NBA season, which sat him third overall in assists per game. Lawson was always a run and gun type player but has been in the shadows since the emergence of Kenneth Faried. While Lawson is more than capable of running an offence, his defensive attitude leaves something to be desired. Thankfully, his on-court performances are at a much higher standard than his off-court antics, as he was recently admitted into a alcohol rehabilitation program a few days prior to the trade.
The official trade package from the Rockets is C Joey Dorsey, SF Kostas Papanikalou, G Nick Johnson, G Pablo Prigioni and a protected second round draft pick. Meanwhile the Rockets will be receieving a first round pick alongside of Lawson. While he will more than likely come off the bench, Lawson provides vital scoring and ball handling that the Rockets need when Harden isn't on the floor. This allows the playmaking duties to be more evenly spread across the team and also lets Harden relax a little bit on the offensive side of the ball. Defensively, Lawson isn't the best due to his size but his speed and quickness should allow him to cover plenty of ground anyway. His combination with Patrick Beverly, defensive stopper, will be interesting to watch as the season progresses.
As for the Nuggets, I think they'll just be glad that they finally got rid of Lawson and his booze.
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