The Denver Nuggets have a lot of positive things going on for them right now with the beginning of training camp. Former Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson feels the same way.
The Nuggets agreed to trade Lawson to the Houston Rockets on Sunday, July 19 following the news of his second DUI in less than a year. Prior to joining the Rockets organization, Lawson was court ordered to participate in a 30 day rehabilitation program. Up until this point, the new Houston point guard has been hesitant to speak about that experience.
“I still honestly don’t think I would’ve had to go in there if it wasn’t court ordered,” Lawson told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. “I just made two dumb mistakes. But I did take things from the [rehabilitation facility].”
Everyone makes mistakes, and while Lawson doesn’t seem to be showing much remorse, he was able to learn what triggers are and what could push people to drink.
“There were people who were pushed into [the rehab facility] by family, and then me, who was court ordered,” Lawson continued. “Just to see that it can get that bad, that you can die. You may not see that as a person until you’re already there.”
In some ways, I can’t help but be reminded of Morgan Freeman’s character Ellis Boyd Redding from The Shawshank Redemption.
“Rehabilitated? Well, now let me see. You know, I don’t have any idea what that means.”
Is Lawson rehabilitated? We may never know. His personality does not seem to have been altered by this experience. Disregarding how this will translate to basketball, time will tell whether or not he has learned his lesson and has grown as a person. For his sake, I hope he has.