Trading for Ty Lawson Would Be Right Move for Sacramento Kings' Rebuild
Ty Lawson makes sense for the perpetually rebuilding Sacramento Kings.
It is, in fact, that simple.
Chad Ford of ESPN.com brought word that the Denver Nuggets are trying to move the seemingly disgruntled point guard. He specifically mentioned that they've tried to flip him for Sacramento's first-round pick in this year's draft (No. 6) to no avail.
Apparent gap in trade talks in mind, this isn't a scenario that's going to lose traction anytime soon. The Nuggets, per Ford, are dangling Lawson elsewhere, but the Kings have longstanding interest in the slippery floor general.
Sacramento head honcho George Karl spent four years coaching Lawson in Denver. Sources told Bleacher Report's Howard Beck back in February, after the trade deadline, that Karl would "love" to coach him again.
That may not happen if the Kings don't budge on their current stance. That No. 6 pick is about the only highly coveted asset in their chamber. They could build a lower-end deal around Darren Collison and Nik Stauskas or Ben McLemore. That's about it.
To that end, Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler paints a different portrait of trade negotiations between Denver and Sacramento:
For what it's worth, though, new Nuggets head coach Mike Malone did admit that changes are on the horizon, per BSNDenver.com:
Whatever the circumstances, the Kings have just cause to at least consider forking over the No. 6 pick in exchange for Lawson. Though it bilks them of a chance to draft a promising youngster such as Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein or Duke's Justise Winslow, or maybe even former high school stud Emmanuel Mudiay, the Kings aren't in a position to bank on high lottery dice rolls panning out.
With the exception of DeMarcus Cousins, most of Sacramento's lottery selections over the last 10 years have failed to move the needle. Spencer Hawes (No. 10 in 2007) is no longer with the team and never flashed star potential; Jason Thompson (No. 8 in 2008) is now an expensive bust; Tyreke Evans (No. 4 in 2009) plays for the New Orleans Pelicans; Bismack Biyombo (No. 7 in 2011) was part of the trade that landed the Kings Jimmer Fredette (No. 10 in 2011) and John Salmons, neither of whom is still with the team; Thomas Robinson (No. 5 in 2012) is trying to salvage his career outside Sacramento; McLemore (No. 7 in 2013) is nothing more than a three-point specialist as of now; and Stauskas (No. 8 in 2014) shot 36.5 percent as a rookie.
Forget developing draft picks. Not only have the Kings proved incapable of selecting the right players, but Cousins is the NBA's best center now, and they have a ton of money committed to Rudy Gay through 2017-18.
Those two players alone demand the Kings make a play to win immediately. It's been nine years since they last made the playoffs, and the term "rebuild" basically refers to their yearly stasis at this point.
Lawson moves the needle in a way no player available at No. 6 will. That he's familiar with Karl is huge. He clashed with Karl's successor, Brian Shaw, according to Grantland's Zach Lowe, and the relationship between him and Denver's front office is clearly tenuous at best in light of the constantly churning rumor mill.
Collison, despite working off a career year, missed 37 games due to injury in 2014-15 and is best suited as a backup. That, or he and Lawson can run together as part of a dual-point guard—not to mention severely undersized—backcourt.
The Nuggets ranked fifth in offensive efficiency and second in pace during Karl and Lawson's final season together, and the Kings are trying to install a similarly effective high-octane attack with the former in control now.
They ranked fifth in possessions used per 48 minutes through Karl's 30-game stint last season. But they didn't have the standout offense to complement that speed; they were tied for 12th in points scored per 100 possessions during that time.
Inserting Lawson into the starting five gives the Kings a household name at the league's deepest position. As Lowe previously wrote: "He’s something like the ninth-, 10th- or 11th-best point guard in the league—a super-fast dynamo who can get into the lane at will, draw fouls and dish a ton of dimes."
Few point guards journey into the paint as effortlessly as Lawson. At 5'11", he's able to zip by defenders before they've even set their feet:
When he attacks the lane, be it in transition or the half court, he's going to collapse defenses. And while he's a risk to get his shot blocked when challenging bigger players, he does have the wherewithal to find orbiting shooters:
Trot out at least three others guys who can function outside the paint with Lawson, and he'll pick up assists from anywhere. He has both the arm strength and vision to do that.
So long as the defense is slightly stretched, a staple of Karl's offenses, he'll create a high-percentage look:
Collison doesn't command the same defensive respect, so it's not as easy for him to generate looks for his teammates off drive-and-kicks, fast-break penetration and pick-and-rolls. Lawson, meanwhile, averaged 19.3 assist opportunities per game during the regular season, which ranked as the most in the NBA after removing Rajon Rondo's average through 22 games with the Boston Celtics from the equation.
Plug him into a starting rotation that also consists of Cousins, Gay, McLemore and one other body, and the Kings will have a truckload of options to run through on the offensive end. That's the foundation of a top-10 point-piling machine at least, and top seven would not be out of the question.
Put even more simply, the Kings aren't going to nab someone who averaged 15.2 points and 9.6 assists—through what many considered an off year—anywhere else. That immediate impact won't come from the draft, and the Kings aren't financially flexible enough to sign an identical player in free agency, per Basketball Insiders.
And even if they could, it would cost too much—relative to Lawson, that is. He's due just $25.6 million over the next two seasons, a bargain by almost-a-star standards.
Especially with the salary cap set to explode in 2016.
Denver's asking price is, of course, an issue. The Kings cannot give them carte blanche in negotiations. But Lawson is a game-changer, one who expedites their decade-long rebuild and brings them closer to making a playoff push.
Trading for him—within reason—is not unsound short-term thinking.
It's the smartest personnel move Sacramento will have made in recent memory.
Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com and NBA.com unless otherwise cited.
Dan Favale covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter: @danfavale.
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