Nuggets say they tried to help Ty Lawson with his 'life issues' for past couple years
The Nuggets traded Ty Lawson to the Rockets for pennies on the dollar, thanks to a second DUI arrest in the last seven months that had Denver wanting to move in a different direction.
On the court, Lawson is an above average starting point guard that can be an asset to plenty of teams in the league. But he's struggled to keep his personal life in order, despite the Nuggets organization doing everything possible to try to help him stay on track.
"[Nuggets President Josh Kroenke] told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday in a phone interview that the Nuggets had been privately trying to help Lawson with his issues for “the past couple of years” and that there had been problems for a long time."
"He always had an affinity for burning the candle at both ends,” Kroenke said. “We want to give our players freedom to be young guys as well. We’re not going to be drill sergeants. But we want our guys to be able to handle their personal lives on their own.
“Ty … there were times when he was better than others. But the problems have been there for several years, going back to when we were having a lot of on-court success. I don’t want to go back too far. There were just a lot of times where you were at practice and you just know. You could smell it. You know there is probably deeper issues than he would probably let on.”
The part about "smelling it" is a reference to alcohol, which Lawson is currently undergoing treatment for by attending a 30-day residential rehabilitation program.
This is why there weren't too many teams interested in trading for Lawson, although the fact that he was initially owed an extra guaranteed year on his contract worth $13.2 million might have played a part in that, as well.
The Rockets didn't risk too much in terms of what they gave up to get Lawson. But the upside for them is huge if he can find a way to straighten things out.
(h/t: Yahoo Sports)
Photo Credit:Chris Humphreys/USA TODAY Sports
