Let the post-trade-deadline Ty Lawson sweepstakes commence!
Or something.
Lawson and the Houston Rockets are officially ready to cut ties with one another, according to the Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen and ESPN.com’s Calvin Watkins:
The Rockets have reached a buyout agreement with Ty Lawson, a person with knowledge of negotiations said.
— Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) March 1, 2016
Source: Rockets complete buyout agreement with guard Ty Lawson.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) March 1, 2016
Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical also added his own spin, because, well, that’s what he does:
Framework of a Ty Lawson-Houston buyout is agreed upon, but sides still working out final detail on buyout structure, league source says.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 1, 2016
Just paperwork left on Ty Lawson-Rockets, but buyout agreed upon and will be finalized today, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) March 1, 2016
Lawson is posting career lows in just about every statistical category imaginable and cost himself a ton of money by agreeing to make next season’s $13.2 million salary non-guaranteed as part of his move to Houston. But there is value in yet another fresh start, somewhere, preferably, that features him as the primary ball-handler, and Lawson is now playoff-eligible after being bought out by March 1.
As for where he’ll land, that’s not yet known.
There aren’t a ton of playoff teams in need of point guards, and there are even fewer postseason-bound squads who will be open to tinkering with their locker-room dynamic ahead of said springtime push. Lawson might actually find the best fit to be on a team that isn’t headed to the playoffs. Both the Milwaukee Bucks and New York Knicks spring to mind here, and the Brooklyn Nets are also desperate for a point guard.
The Utah Jazz, who remain in the postseason hunt, could use another floor general, but they appear set with Shelvin Mack. The Indiana Pacers might be feeling spunky, and the Miami Heat, perpetual risk-takers, need someone to play behind/off of Goran Dragic.
Moral of the story: Even though Lawson is a shell of his former, almost All-Star self, he is going to have options.
