The Houston Rockets got their man and the Nuggets rid themselves of a problem.
According to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski, Denver traded embattled point guard Ty Lawson to the Rockets.
Denver has agreed to a deal to send guard Ty Lawson to Houston, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 20, 2015
Going the other way to Denver according to Wojnarowski is Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson and a protected first round pick in 2016.
In addition to Lawson, the Nuggets will also send a second-round pick in 2017.
Denver will send a 2017 second-round pick to Houston, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 20, 2015
Ultimately this is almost a deal that’s too good to be true for the Rockets. First they get a guy in Lawson who immediately becomes a nice compliment to James Harden while taking some pressure of the Rockets superstar in a relatively thin Houston back court.
Denver on the other hand gets to move on from Lawson who last week was arrested for his second DUI of the year.
Obviously the x-factor in this deal will be whether or not Lawson can get his life turned around. He was recently sentenced to a 30-day rehabilitation program and has yet to face sentencing for his second DUI last week.
The Rockets really didn’t pay a huge price though for Lawson who they obviously bought low. Even with the first-rounder going to Denver, it doesn’t project to be a high pick.
Bottom line if Lawson can put the alcohol issues behind him, he’s simply a steal for the Rockets.