The Ty Lawson era is over for the Denver Nuggets, as they have reportedly shipped the point guard and a second-round pick to the Houston Rockets in exchange for four players and a first-round pick, as reported by Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. Lawson was acquired by Denver on draft night in 2009 -- since then, he has become one of the better point guards in the league, but off-the-court issues have completely changed his reputation. Let's grade the trade:
Rockets acquire Ty Lawson, 2017 second-round pick
Lawson fits perfectly in a pace-and-space offensive system like Houston's. He is lightning-quick, a great pick-and-roll creator and he's made 37 percent of his 3-pointers over the course of his career. In today's NBA, most contenders have someone like him at the point guard spot, putting pressure on opposing defenses. The Rockets have instead started Patrick Beverley, one of the few players who can slow down guys like Lawson. That was done out of necessity rather than by choice, though, and it worked because of the presence of shooting guard James Harden, who functioned like a point guard anyway.
Adding Lawson means Harden will no longer have to handle all of Houston's perimeter playmaking duties. We know he's more than capable of that, as it almost got him an MVP award last season, but this should be good for Harden long-term. It will also make the Rockets much tougher to stop in the playoffs.
Houston got the best player in this deal by a mile. It sacrificed four bench players in exchange for one of the better offensive point guards in basketball. The risk here has nothing to do with Lawson's talent -- he's shown what he can do on the court. But he's not what you'd call a team leader. Lawson appears to have major off-the-court issues to sort through, as he was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence this past week in California. It was his second such arrest this year, and he has a court date set for August 20 after he finishes a 30-day alcohol rehab program.
Before giving this acquisition a grade, let's remember that Lawson's well-being is much more important than how how he'll fit with this roster. The hope is that the Rockets will provide the right environment for him to get back on track. They plan to have John Lucas, who lives in Houston and is the NBA's go-to-guy in situations like this, work with Lawson if he's open to it, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.
Grade: A
Nuggets acquire Nick Johnson, Kostas Papanikolaou, Joey Dorsey, Pablo Prigioni, 2016 protected first-round pick
As well as what's listed above, Denver traded for the ability to tell Emmanuel Mudiay that he will be a starting point guard from Day 1 of his NBA career. While Mudiay is big enough to have theoretically played with Lawson a little, he is a true point guard who obviously represents the future of the franchise. There's a reason Lawson said he was going to be traded the moment the Nuggets made their selection on draft night.
The guys they got back can all play minutes for Denver off the bench. Johnson is an extremely athletic combo guard who competes defensively. Papanikolaou is a smart ball mover who could become a stretch 4 if he improves his 3-point stroke. Dorsey is a banger who can help on the defensive glass. This move improves the Nuggets' depth than anything, but it was more about acquiring the future first-round pick and handing the keys to Mudiay.
From a pure talent standpoint, Denver obviously lost this deal. Lawson's value was understandably low at this point, though, and the team was motivated to move him. You can't have reasonably expected the Nuggets to get much more than this in return right now.
Denver will waive Priogini, who is only guaranteed $440,000 next season and can help a contender, according to NBA.com's David Aldridge.
Grade: B
