A parting of ways was in the cards. It had to be for both the Nuggets and troubled point guard Ty Lawson to get a fresh start.
The organization and the player got just that Sunday when the Nuggets dealt Lawson to the Houston Rockets, a trade that became official Monday afternoon. In return, the Nuggets received a first-round 2016 draft pick as well as a bevy of players — Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey and Nick Johnson. The Nuggets immediately waived Prigioni once the trade was announced. The story was first reported by Yahoo! Sports.
The most important part of it from the Nuggets’ perspective is getting the first-round pick. The pick is protected, but given a difficult trading climate because of Lawson’s trade value plummeting over the last few weeks, receiving the selection is significant.
The Nuggets have 12 guaranteed contracts on the team, and that will become 13 when guard Erick Green’s deal becomes guaranteed Aug. 1. The Nuggets still have expressed a desire to re-sign forward Darrell Arthur.
It also means rookie point guard Emmanuel Mudiay will be the Nuggets’ new starting point guard. The 19-year-old was one of the stars of the NBA’s Las Vegas summer league in the past week. Veteran guard Jameer Nelson, whom the team just re-signed, is the reserve point guard.
Lawson, meanwhile, is undergoing a month of alcohol rehabilitation in Malibu. A Denver judge last week ordered him to receive continuous alcohol monitoring once he returns from rehab, following Lawson’s second DUI arrest in six months in Los Angeles last week.
He had been the Nuggets’ starting point guard for each of the last four seasons. He was third in the NBA in assists last season, averaging 9.6, to go with 15.2 points per game.
But his off-court troubles piled up.
In 2008, Lawson pleaded guilty in a North Carolina court to underage drinking and driving. He had been a player on the University of North Carolina basketball team.
In August 2013, Lawson was arrested in Arapahoe County on suspicion of physical harassment and criminal mischief involving domestic violence, along with his girlfriend, Ashley Nicole Pettiford.
The domestic violence case, in which both Lawson and Pettiford were charged, was dismissed in October 2013. That case involved a loud dispute and broken cellphones.
In addition to the alcohol offenses, Lawson did not show up for Denver’s first practice after NBA all-star break in February. He also has had various social media missteps that have put into question just how committed he was to staying in Denver.
And now he’ll join a Rockets team that needs help at point guard.
Behind great performances from star guard James Harden, the Rockets advanced to the Western Conference finals last season. The Rockets had been connected to the Nuggets in recent days in Lawson trade speculation.
In the end, everyone got something they wanted.
Christopher Dempsey: cdempsey@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dempseypost
