Best Potential Trade Destinations for Ty Lawson During 2015 NBA Offseason
Ladies and gentlemen, it's time to fire up the trade machine.
According to BasketballInsiders.com's Steve Kyler, Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson—and the recently extended Kenneth Faried—has grown displeased with the organization and could be dealt this summer as a result:
"Nuggets president Josh Kroenke has said a few times that this offseason was about making sure the players on the roster want to be in Denver, and that’s a big part of their offseason plan.
Sources close to the process say Lawson and Faried have kept no secret of their discontent and unless the Nuggets can pull off something major on the coaching front or make a significant trade, both have indicated they’d rather see a trade instead of sticking around for a long rebuild.
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Kyler's report matches up with what the Denver Post's Mark Kiszla wrote last week regarding the franchise's intention to try to shake up the depth chart before the 2015-16 season gets underway.
"While Kroenke steadfastly refuses to offer specific names when talking about plans to aggressively retool the roster prior to opening night of the next NBA season, it's realistic to expect point guard Ty Lawson or forward Kenneth Faried or both to be part of trade discussions prior to the June 25 draft," Kiszla wrote.
| 35.5 | 15.2 | 9.6 | 1.2 | 43.6% | 34.1% | 18.5 |
Along with Chris Paul and John Wall, Lawson was one of three players to average at least 15 points and nine assists last season. That's production worth paying for, especially since Lawson is under team control for the next two years at an average annual salary of $12.8 million. With a cap spike looming in 2016, that's an attractive contract teams should be salivating to latch onto.
Sifting through franchises that have a need at the position and can offer a mutually beneficial partnership, we've identified three squads that fit the bill for Lawson's services.
The Dallas Mavericks are Lawson's dream landing spot, per Kyler, and it makes all the sense in the world.
Although the Mavericks have Devin Harris locked in for two more years at under $4.3 million a pop, and Raymond Felton just exercised his $3.9 million player option for next season, per RealGM's Shams Charania, Dallas desperately needs a game-changer at point.
After the Rajon Rondo experiment went up in flames, Dallas craves a speedy, decisive decision-maker who can create his own shot, feed bigs as they dive to the basket and distribute to the team's bevy of outside shooters.
There's just one problem: Dallas isn't working with much in terms of trade fodder. Rondo's set to become an unrestricted free agent, and the same goes for Tyson Chandler.
MavsMoneyball.com's Tim Cato noted as much:
"After sending a protected draft pick to Boston in the Rajon Rondo trade (a pick that will likely be dealt in 2016), the Mavericks are out of assets. When options are exercised and deadlines have passed, the Mavericks will likely be left with five players under contract before this summer's free agency period. Only one of those, Dwight Powell, exudes anything resembling a promising future.
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However, Cato does mention the possibility of using Monta Ellis as the centerpiece of a package for Lawson assuming he opts into the final year of his deal at $8.7 million before the cap explodes.
Should Ellis make that move, Dallas could find itself in a position advantageous to acquiring the 27-year-old point guard.
With Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid seemingly entrenched as the Philadelphia 76ers' frontcourt of the future, the team should be shifting its focus to adding ball-handlers and dribble-drive creators in the draft.
Lawson, though, represents a springboard to backcourt stability.
After the Sixers pulled up the rear in the offensive efficiency department during the regular season, they could stand to add a versatile playmaker.
And while Philadelphia could go for a cheaper, long-term solution with a point guard such as D'Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay with the draft's third pick, Lawson could be the ready-made solution capable of helping Noel and Embiid flourish.
"As intriguing as drafting D'Angelo Russell or Emmanuel Mudiay may be to the Sixers, it's an ever better idea to pounce and nab a potential All-Star, especially when Wilson Chandler might also be thrown into the deal as a sweetener. All of a sudden, Philadelphia would be looking at trotting out Lawson, Chandler, Robert Covington, Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid.
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Last season, Lawson ranked No. 3 overall (minimum 40 appearances) in points generated via assists at 22.7, according to SportVU player-tracking data. Only Paul and Wall ranked higher. By comparison, Ish Smith and Tony Wroten produced 14.7 and 12.4 points through dimes, respectively, for Philadelphia.
The problem, though, would revolve around Philadelphia's ability to appease Denver with sufficient assets.
While the Sixers have loads of picks—including No. 3 this year, the Los Angeles Lakers' top-three protected pick in 2016, a top-10 protected pick from the Miami Heat in 2016 and a top-15 protected 2016 selection from the Oklahoma City Thunder—they don't have much in the way of salaries that would allow them to match a deal for Lawson.
At present, no Sixers player is under contract for more than $4.6 million next season, and the high earner is slated to be Embiid. With rookie contracts galore, it would take some serious creativity (and perhaps a few other teams) to settle on a deal that's agreeable for both sides.
According to Kyler, the Sacramento Kings have joined the Mavericks as clubs that "are both said [to] be high on Lawson."
It's not hard to see why.
The Kings rolled with Darren Collison at point last season, but he was limited to 45 appearances due to tears in his core muscles that required surgery. Lawson would be an upgrade from a playmaking standpoint, and with Collison signed to a team-friendly deal at roughly $10.2 million over the next two seasons, he could theoretically operate as an instant offense generator off the pine.
Securing Lawson will require cooperation from the Nuggets, though. And to this point, the team has publicly appeared willing to mix things up.
"We're going to be aggressive this summer as an organization and continue to be aggressive until we feel we have the roster that can truly compete for something special," Nuggets president Josh Kroenke said, according to Kiszla.
With the sixth pick in June's draft and $53 million in guaranteed money on their balance sheet, the Kings would appear to have the assets necessary to make a swap.
That said, agreeing on a deal would likely require the Nuggets to take on an expiring contract (see: Jason Thompson) and another mid-level contract along with an appealing asset in order to make salaries match and the deal worthwhile for Denver.
Since a chunk of Sacramento's money is tied up in long-term deals for Rudy Gay and DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings would have to sweeten the pot and perhaps get other teams involved as a way to facilitate their acquisition of a dynamic floor general.
All statistics are courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com unless noted otherwise. All salary information retrieved from BasketballInsiders.com.
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