Ty Lawson Trade Rekindles Houston Rockets' Championship Hopes

The Houston Rockets joined the league's wheelers and dealers on Sunday with a move that could alter the odds entering the 2015-16 title race.

They agreed to acquire embattled point guard Ty Lawson from the Denver Nuggets, according to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, in exchange for a package that includes Kostas Papanikolaou's non-guaranteed contract, Pablo Prigioni's partially guaranteed deal, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson and a lottery-protected 2016 first-round draft pick.

Put another way, the Rockets landed a starting-caliber, All-Star 27-year-old point guard without giving up anyone of particularly great consequence. These are the deals for which general manager Daryl Morey lives: big names obtained by any (often creative) means necessary.

And these are the deals that can change a franchise's trajectory, in this case returning Houston to the front and center of the West's highly competitive championship conversation. The Golden State Warriors got the better of these Rockets a season ago, but Lawson could certainly help change that.

To put this deal in perspective, consider that Houston made it to last season's Western Conference Finals without starting floor general Patrick Beverley. Now its rotation includes both a healthy Beverley and Lawson, who's been Denver's full-time starter in each of his last four seasons.

Season	Min	Pts	FG %	3FG%	Ast	Stl	PER
'09-10	20.3	8.3	.515	.410	3.1	0.7	16.4
'10-11	26.3	11.7	.503	.404	4.7	1.0	17.9
'11-12	34.8	16.4	.488	.365	6.6	1.3	19.4
'12-13	34.4	16.7	.461	.366	6.9	1.5	17.9
'13-14	35.8	17.6	.431	.356	8.8	1.6	19.0
'14-15	35.5	15.2	.436	.341	9.6	1.2	18.5

On paper, the trade is a steal for the Rockets. Even amid Denver's struggles last season, Lawson shined with a career-best 9.6 assists per contest. Though his overall shooting efficiency has waned a bit during the last two seasons, he still made a solid enough 34.1 percent of his three-point attempts last season.

And it's entirely conceivable that Lawson will inherit better shots alongside a talented lineup that includes James Harden, Dwight Howard, Trevor Ariza and Terrence Jones. Regardless, his primary responsibility will be getting those guys the ball and putting them in positions to be successful on the offensive end. Lawson should thrive in that capacity.

Paul Sancya/Associated Press

The change of scenery will likely help, as well. After a 30-win season in Denver, one suspects Lawson will respond favorably to an all-but-official return to the postseason.

"He's excited," Lawson's agent, Happy Walters, told Fox 26's Mark Berman. "I spoke to him once about it. He's close with James, tight with Corey (Brewer), knows Trevor and Dwight and is real excited. It's an opportunity for him. He's been deep in the playoffs before, but this is something he feels really good about."

Walters appears convinced this is an ideal situation for his client.

"I think it's amazing," he added, per Berman. "It's good for him. He's one of the better point guards in the league. Patrick is there and is great as well. It helps the team a lot. Great coach. Great organization. Team is deep."

And it's all the deeper with Lawson in the fold. Even in the crowded West, the Rockets now stand out with what may well be the conference's most dangerous six- or seven-man rotation. The Warriors, San Antonio Spurs, Los Angeles Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder will all have something to say about that, but Houston has for the moment proven it belongs among those contenders.

That's no small accomplishment on the heels of free-agent maneuvering that saw the Spurs (LaMarcus Aldridge and David West) and Clippers (Paul Pierce and Lance Stephenson) grow notably stronger. Meanwhile, the Warriors retained restricted free agent Draymond Green, and the Thunder figure to be healthier after a season decimated by key injuries to Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka.

Though a clear victory for the Rockets, the trade comes with a few question marks. Lawson's recent off-court problems remain an important hurdle.

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

As Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski recently reported:

"

After Lawson's second DUI arrest in six months, market interest for him had been severely curbed, league sources said. Nevertheless, the Rockets have had a strong interest with him and were willing to take the risk of working to get Lawson the assistance he needs to become a top-level NBA point guard again.

"

Some of that assistance may come in the form of longtime coach, hoops guru and Houston-area resident John Lucas, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein and former Brooklyn Nets executive Bobby Marks:

Lawson is currently receiving treatment at Cliffside Malibu in California, and he's scheduled for another court appearance on Aug. 20, according to The Associated Press' Kristen Wyatt.

"Ty is going through a rough time right now, but we're all behind him," Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly said in Las Vegas last week, per Wyatt. "Ty's a really good person. He's a Nugget, so when one of our guys goes through issues, we support him as a family and everyone stands behind him."

Though he's no longer a Nugget, Lawson will almost certainly find a similar support system in Houston—along with the opportunity to put this particular battle behind him. 

Prior to Lawson's arrest, he made headlines with a video in which he said, "I'm going to Sacramento," in reference to rumors, per CBS Sports' Ken Berger, that the organization might be interested in a potential reunion with head coach George Karl. Lawson's comment was pursuant to the Nuggets' decision to select point guard Emmanuel Mudiay with the No. 7 overall selection in June's draft.

Aside from the off-court drama, the trade's bigger danger may be ruffling Beverley's feathers with the addition of a new point guard. Though Lawson hasn't officially been promised a starting job, one suspects the organization would prefer his playmaking in the starting lineup in a bid to alleviate Harden's ball-handling burden.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

It's unclear where that leaves Beverley, a defense-first type who's grown pretty comfortable in a catch-and-shoot role on the offensive end. Lawson is almost certainly the more traditional point guard, but Beverley has quickly established a reputation as one of the league's grittier perimeter defenders. So far, anyway, Beverley appears to be taking the move in stride.

After all, winning tends to cure just about anything. And there should be plenty of winning in Houston this season. There may even be more moves on the way toward that end.

How's that for a backcourt rotation? Remember, Terry played a serviceable starting role in Houston's conference-finals run last season, and his addition would assure some veteran leadership and depth behind Lawson, Beverley and even Harden at the 2 spot.

With or without Terry, the Rockets are in excellent shape. Having Lawson around alleviates some of Harden's playmaking duties and assures another lob-passing facilitator for Howard. Harden expressed the desire for another playmaker at season's end after bearing much of the handling and creating throughout the season (and especially in the playoffs).

A true pass-first point guard is precisely the kind of catalyst Houston needed amid an elite class of teams boasting 1s like Stephen Curry, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker and Mike Conley.

Assuming head coach Kevin McHale finds the right mix of time and touches for Lawson and Beverley, the two (very different) guards should form a dangerous and complementary combination. One is a natural creator, and the other is a premier defensive answer to the aforementioned opposition. Even the best of the West will have their hands full.

Morey didn't snag Aldridge this summer, and he missed out on Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh a year ago. But he's proven remarkably effective in executing his Plan Bs and Cs, this time addressing a very real need at a bargain price. This franchise improved dramatically overnight, enough so that a widening crop of contenders just became a lot more complicated.