I know what you’re thinking. This is just click-bait designed to generate a reaction from the general public. The Denver Nuggets should keep embattled point guard Ty Lawson after his second DUI arrest of 2015? Never mind that the team had been trying to move Lawson since before he had his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. Now, after he’s carelessly burned every bridge in town while practically begging for a ticket out of Denver, the very idea that the Nuggets should hold on to Ty Lawson is preposterous.
Indeed, as I saw the news on Tuesday morning, as many others did, that Lawson had been arrested under suspicion of DUI in Los Angeles, and knowing as I did that just a day earlier Lawson had pulled out of attending his own youth basketball camp here in Denver, my reaction was likely the same as many of yours: this guy just doesn’t get it.
It was a natural reaction. Lawson has shown his lack of maturity time and again during his tenure in Denver. From multiple DUIs, to throwing coaches under the bus, to skipping practices to party, to showing blatant public defiance towards the organization, Lawson’s ability to undermine his considerable skill set due to an utter lack of professionalism has been infuriating Nuggets fans for far too long.
But after the initial anger wore off, I felt bad for Lawson. I don’t know the man personally, so I can’t speak to his state of mind. But amid a lot of uncertainty following the Nuggets’ second awful season in a row, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that the point guard is self-destructing professionally.
Every basketball insider in America believes that what was a tough sell to teams in Lawson after his draft night Twitter indiscretions, is now irreparably damaged goods after ducking out on his youth camp, some errant comments about local deity Chauncey Billups and, of course, the latest DUI. Reports late Tuesday night were that Denver was considering waiving Lawson to keep him away from the team this season. But eating $25 million is a tough pill to swallow. The way the stretch provisions work in the NBA would make the financial flexibility of waiving Lawson hardly worth the squeeze, not to mention the blow that it might be to Ty, who already seems to be struggling with the state of his professional life.
In the end, Lawson (through no small fault of his own) is left with a team he doesn’t want and who doesn’t want him. He has alienated his fan base and could even face jail time as a result of his DUI arrests. He doesn’t have friends who are loyal enough to not post an unfiltered reaction to what must have been a jarring moment, on social media.
Whether he knows it or not, Ty Lawson needs the Denver Nuggets now more than ever. Whether self-destructive or inadvertent, this is a star in the NBA whose career is quickly circling the drain at the age of 27, based purely on stupid decisions.
From a human standpoint, I hope that Lawson gets the help he needs to reverse his fortune, and superficially it would make me feel good if the Nuggets could be the family that Lawson needs right now – a group to stick by his side and help him get whatever help he needs.
Objectively speaking, the Nuggets would stand to benefit substantially from doing just that. Helping Lawson sort out his personal issues gives Denver the perfect reason to keep him away from the rest of the team as they build a new culture, while simultaneously standing out against a professional sports environment that so often casts players aside at the slightest sign of mental weakness.
Earlier this year we saw with Josh Hamilton how quickly a team can turn on a player who suffers from mental illness. And just last week we watched DeAndre Jordan turn the NBA upside down for a day based on a decision that apparently caused him an incredible amount of mental strife. Standing beside and helping a player, even an unwanted one, in the face of struggles larger than basketball would go further Denver’s chances of landing quality free agents in the future than the minimal cap space that waiving Lawson would accomplish. And in doing so, perhaps eventually Lawson can again be a meaningful piece of the Denver Nuggets or a useful trade chip once some of his value is rebuilt.
The financial benefit of waiving Ty Lawson is very little, and the point guard is worth even less on the trade market right now. The Nuggets can do the right thing by Lawson and still wind up ahead in the end.
I genuinely hope that the Nuggets bet on the long play and help Lawson get his act together. With Lawson’s value at an all-time low, it’s a smart basketball decision. It’s also just the right thing to do.