The Denver Nuggets will trade point guard Ty Lawson to the Houston Rockets, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein and Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
According to Woj, Houston will send Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson and a 2016 protected first round pick to Denver for Lawson and a future second round pick. The trade is a no brainer for the Rockets from a basketball perspective. Lawson fits in perfectly with the Rockets’s style of play. He runs the floor extremely well, and is a dependable three-point shooter, traits that should merge perfectly with Houston’s fast-paced, bombs away approach.
Of course, an acquisition of Lawson must be couched in his recent legal troubles. Lawson entered a 30-day alcohol rehab program Saturday after his second DUI arrest in six months. He’s a great player when engaged, but he may need some extra care from the organization.
Lawson has been mentioned in trade rumors for months, and he became even more expendable after the Nuggets drafted Emmanuel Mudiay seventh overall in June. His trade value was clearly at an all-time low, as Houston was able to pick him up for a bunch of spare parts, seemingly fleecing a Denver team desperate to get rid of him.
The Rockets are looking like no joke heading into the next season. They were a conference finalist this year, despite dealing with a couple big injuries in the playoffs. Lawson’s acquisition gives Houston an extremely formidable starting five on paper, and the bench should get a little boost from jitterbug point guard Pat Beverly joining the group. With the Clippers and Spurs loading up, and the champion Warriors bringing back almost the exact same team, the top of the West should be delightfully stacked.
Photo via Associated Press