Five Playmaking Guards The Houston Rockets Should Target
By Travis Oquin
Apr 8, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Nuggets guard
Ty Lawson(3) shoots the ball over Los Angeles Lakers guard
Jordan Clarkson(6) during the first half at Pepsi Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports
5’11” – 27 years old
Denver’s Ty Lawson, might be the most available of any player on this list. Rumors abound that he wants out of Denver and has requested a trade. The Nuggets also appear ready to move on from Lawson and start a rebuilding process as their current mix of players lacks a star that can get them even into the playoffs in the brutal Western Conference.
Lawson’s numbers went backwards somewhat last season as his play seemed uninspired, likely due to frustration with the Nuggets as they continue to flounder as a team stuck in the non-playoff teams group in the West.
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Lawson is however a career 37 percent 3-point shooter and is a creator on offense. Of all players on this list Lawson is the best distributor averaging 8.8 and 9.6 assists the last two seasons.
Lawson is more than capable of picking up some of the scoring as well, averaging over 16 points per game in 4 of his 6 seasons as a pro.
Defensively, like everyone on this list, Lawson is below average. However as we stated earlier, if the Rockets trade for a player, they can still match any offer on Patrick Beverley to retain him as the 3rd guard.
The challenge for the Rockets would be the package needed to get Lawson. Lawson has 2 years remaining on his current contract and $12.4 million due this season, which is the number the Rockets have to match or come within 25% of, or $9.3 million.
We would propose:
Traded: Terrence Jones, Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni & ( either Joey Dorsey or Nick Johnson) for Ty Lawson
As we discussed in our article on players that should not return to the Rockets, Kostas Papanikolaou and his $4.8 million would definitely be included. The Nuggets could keep or release him as his contract for this season is non-guaranteed.
Pablo Prigioni likewise, while due $1.7 million next season only has a partial guarantee of $440,000, which the Rockets can include cash in the deal to cover. Prigioni would simply be included for matching purposes.
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The player that has the most value that the Rockets would likely be willing to deal, assuming they are resigning Josh Smith is of course Terrence Jones. But would the Nuggets have interest as Jones plays the same position as Kenneth Faried?
The Nuggets main interest likely would be the 18th overall pick that the Rockets own for this season. If Rockets include that pick, then they should not include Nick Johnson and would substitute Joey Dorsey instead to make the dollars work.
Terrence Jones (if the Nuggets have interest) and the 18th pick is quite a lot to give up, but the Rockets could take some future 2nd round picks back to balance it out.
Next: Click HERE To View Trade Scenario #4: My Sleeper Pick & Cost-Effective Option