Ty Lawson has been a problem all season for the Houston Rockets, and if they can receive anything of value back for him, then they need to trade him as soon as possible. When general manager Daryl Morey swung a deal for Lawson last summer after his off-court issues became quite public, a lot of analysts praised the exchange. But it really made me wonder if the Rockets were about to begin a downfall from which they couldn’t recover.
Dwight Howard‘s name came up in trade talks earlier this season, but those were never realistic due to the size of his contract and his importance to the team’s overall defense. Since that point, James Harden has started flowing again on the offensive side of the floor, and Howard has stopped complaining publicly about his role.
The Rockets are a long way from the Western Conference Finals team that they were last season, and they must improve their chemistry in order to reach that level again. Trading Lawson would help them get back to that stage, and they might even have to give up a draft pick to make it happen. That is because of his horrible numbers. He is only averaging 6.4 points, 4.1 assists and .94 steals per game, and those statistics are way down from his career averages. He has only started in 11 out of the 35 games in which he’s played, and that is pretty awful for someone the Rockets thought would lessen the ball handling responsibilities for Harden.
Lawson just doesn’t fit this team, and Morey must figure out a way to get the point guard out of that locker room. He could become a poisonous presence during a playoff series where he sees little to no minutes. It will be interesting to watch if the Rockets are able to move the enigmatic point guard when the market has gone completely cold on him, but they must do it if any offers are on the table.
