Ty Lawson was looking to save a career that once was coming close to ending before it could even really get going. Lawson – who was arrested, charged and suspended on more than one occasion for DUI charges dating back to his days in Denver – was hoping for a career rejuvenation when he was traded from the Denver Nuggets to the Houston Rockets over the summer.
As a part of the deal, Lawson accepted the option to make his final year in his deal in 2016-17 to be unguaranteed, so it allowed Houston to cut bait after the season ends if Lawson did not work out.
Early on into the season, the Lawson experiment in Houston failed to takeoff and the writing was on the wall. At the trade deadline, the Rockets were looking to move Lawson but they were unsuccessful in doing so. Now the benched, former fringe All-Star is working on finalizing a buyout with the Rockets.
Following from Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical on Yahoo! Sports.
The Houston Rockets and guard Ty Lawson are exploring a contract buyout, league sources told The Vertical.
The Rockets and Lawson’s agent, Happy Walters, have recently started to discuss buyout scenarios, league sources said.
After an initial unwillingness to part with Lawson post-NBA trade deadline, the Rockets could use the savings on a possible buyout to clear salary-cap space to acquire other players becoming available through buyouts, league sources said.
Houston discussed trade-deadline deals on Lawson, but was unable to find a suitable trade. Lawson is still owed $3.2 million on his 2015-16 contract, having already been paid $9.2 million.
The Rockets are $524,000 under the hard salary cap.
Lawson will need to agree to a buyout and be waived by Tuesday in order to be added to a team’s postseason roster but as we’ve seen in many cases already this season, buyouts come real fast. Lawson has averaged six points and 3.5 assists in 22.8 minutes a game for the Rockets but In his seven-year career, Lawson has averaged 13.3 points and 6.3 assists.
UPDATE:
Ty Lawson and the Rockets have finalized a buyout for Ty Lawson, as reported by Calvin Watkins of ESPN.
Source: Rockets complete buyout agreement with guard Ty Lawson.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) March 1, 2016
