Houston Rockets Rumors: Team Considering Sending Ty Lawson to Utah Jazz For Trey Burke

Most of the trade noise surrounding the Houston Rockets has centered on Dwight Howard recently, but their possible desire to trade point guard Ty Lawson dates back awhile. Ahead of Thursday’s 3 p.m ET trade deadline, ESPN’s Marc Stein is reporting the Rockets have offered Lawson to the Utah Jazz for a package of players that would include guard Trey Burke.

Lawson has been suspended twice this season for separated DWI arrests, and his on-court production (6.3 points and 3.6 assists per game) has simply not been very good. The Rockets would be selling low on a once-very promising player, but Lawson has been a poor fit from the start this season and there’s no sign that will change.

Utah would have to include at least one more player in a deal for Lawson, in order to make salaries match up, but the headliner going to Houston would surely still be Burke if a deal got done. The 2013 lottery pick is averaging career-lows across the board so far this season, including minutes (23.6 per game), even though Dante Exum has been sidelined all season by an offseason knee injury.

Burke seems to have no significant place in Utah’s backcourt mix, but the idea of giving up on a young player so soon better come with a significant gain. Lawson fits the bill as the type of veteran point guard Utah has reportedly been seeking in a trade, and there’s an opportunity to buy-low right now. But I don’t see Lawson as the single missing piece to a deep playoff run, this season or ever, in Utah or anywhere else, and giving up Burke to get him would be a regrettable move for the Jazz.