Ty Lawson's time in Denver could be coming to an end, according to the Denver Post's Chris Dempsey. Lawson, who was drafted by the Nuggets in 2009, antagonized the franchise in an Instagram post last week when asked by a Mavericks fan to come play for Dallas. "I wish," Lawson responded before deleting the post. Now, according to Dempsey, the Nuggets appear willing to partially acquiesce.
Ty Lawson may have played his last game with Nuggets, according to report
The Nuggets’ point guard is on the trade block. Could his time in Denver be coming to an end?
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“Once considered an untouchable on the Nuggets’ roster, the point guard’s actions over the past two years have done everything to remove himself from that space,” Dempsey writes. “His new reality? He’s as susceptible to the next good trade offer as any other tradeable player in the NBA.”
Many of Lawson's issues with the Nuggets came when Brian Shaw was leading the team. Shaw wanted to run a half court system, which took away Lawson's strengths. Does Shaw no longer being in charge change the situation?
More from Dempsey:
“If Lawson wants to remain with the Nuggets, he has an uphill battle to convince the organization there are enough good reasons to put him back on the untouchable list. And there isn’t enough time to completely turn the tide by one of the biggest wheeling-and-dealing times of the year, the June draft.”
Lawson, 27, has two years and about $30 million left on his current contract. He averaged 15 points and nearly 10 assists last season and shot 44 percent from the field.
Why trading Lawson makes sense
Because the Nuggets aren’t close to competing and they can get a lot back for him. He’s still under contract for two seasons, which means he’s not a player a team will be renting.
He’s also still really good. This is a guy who’s been the go-to player on some playoff teams in the past. While it’s easy to point at all that went wrong this season in Denver (and there was a lot!), Lawson still played well, especially offensively. The Nuggets as a team averaged 101.6 points per 100 possessions. When Lawson played that number jumped to 104.8.
Lawson is still fast and he can still get into the paint. His shooting has fallen a bit -- he hit just 34 percent of his three-point attempts last season, a career low -- but on the right team and with the right spacing, he can still be a menace. There are plenty of teams that could use a point guard like him, including Jazz, Kings, Mavericks, Lakers, Sixers, Pistons and Knicks. One of them would give up some good assets for two years of Lawson. For a team like the Nuggets headed nowhere, a complete teardown is the smart move.
There’s a story about Branch Rickey. Once, when he was running a flailing Pittsburgh Pirates team, he cut the salary of his best player, Ralph Kiner, who naturally objected, only to be told by Rickey, “we can finish in last without you.” The point was clear.
The same sort of thinking could apply here with Denver.
Why trading Lawson doesn’t make sense
Because he’s still a productive player on a reasonable contract. That’s someone who will be hard to replace. It’s one thing to rebuild, but it’s another to go full Sixers Mode and lose players who are productive. Lawson could still be an effective point guard by the time the Nuggets complete their rebuild.
An argument could be made that the team’s biggest problem last season was Shaw. As a coach, he just wasn’t the right fit. Maybe Denver’s not as bad as it appeared to be last season. Maybe the right new coach with a few tweaks could get the Nuggets into playoff contention again. This is a team that won 57 games just two seasons ago.
Also, since Lawson is under contract for two more seasons, who’s to say his opinion of the franchise doesn’t turn around? A lot can happen in two years. Few franchises know this better than the Nuggets.
Likelihood (7/10)
All that being said, it does seem like a trade is on the horizon. Lawson’s Instagram post was pretty transparent. So is Dempsey’s report, which, one has to believe, is coming from some place in the Nuggets’ organization. There are too many teams that need a point guard and many of them will be interested in Lawson. The Nuggets are going to receive at least one offer that is just too good to pass up.
★★★
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