National Basketball Association

Nuggets trade disgruntled Ty Lawson to Rockets

Published Jul. 19, 2015 9:52 p.m. ET

foxsports

By Robert Judin

Life hasn’t been gravy for the Denver Nuggets this offseason. Yes, they added the young and talented combo guard Emmanuel Mudiay via the 2015 NBA Draft, but even the No. 7 overall pick isn’t enough to completely help the franchise turn around.

The real trouble came when point guard Ty Lawson, a former North Carolina Tar Heel, was arrested for his second DUI in six months. Lawson had been disgruntled for a while and publicly acknowledged a trade was looming. But as soon as those red, white, and blue flashing lights showed up in his rear view mirror, Lawson’s trade value plummeted.

On Sunday night, though, the Nuggets agreed to send Lawson and a future second-round pick to the Houston Rockets for virtually nothing. All Denver got in return was a protected first-round pick, Pablo Prigioni, Nick Johnson, Joey Dorsey, and Kostas Papanikolaou — all that for a point guard with all-star talent.

So...playoff Rockets team that made WCF lost Josh Smith but added Ty Lawson, Pat Beverley & Donatas Motiejunas, plus two quality rookies.
— David Weiner (@BimaThug) July 20, 2015