After a rollercoaster regular season, the Washington Wizards stumble into the playoffs as the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference with a 43-39 record.
With a matchup now set against a top-seeded and incredibly deep Toronto Raptors squad, the Wizards know they need to change some things in order to survive the first round. Though not a splashy move, the Wizards added some bench depth in the form of guard Ty Lawson according to The Vertical’s Shams Charania:
Ty Lawson has signed with the Washington Wizards, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 12, 2018
Despite star point guard John Wall fully recovering from his knee surgery and rejoining the Wizards lineup recently, this hasn’t stopped their late-season skid as Washington has dropped six of their previous eight games.
Though Ty Lawson enjoyed success early on in his career during his tenure with the Denver Nuggets, it remains to be seen whether he will be the spark Washington is looking for. Though he could provide some insurance behind Wall and Tomas Satoransky, his minutes are likely to be sparse, especially in the playoffs when rotations tend to become more condensed.
Though Wall’s injury issues have been problematic this season, Satoransky has quietly developed into a solid playmaker and someone who head coach Scott Brooks trusts in late-game situations. The 26-year-old Czech guard started in stretches with Wall sidelined and proved to be a valuable asset.
With Satoranksy handling a lot of the reserve guard minutes and Ramon Sessions and Tim Frazier also still on the roster, the addition of Lawson is likely in case of emergency more than an actual boost to Washington’s rotation.
Lawson had played internationally in China this season prior to joining the Wizards. The 30-year-old guard put together admirable stats during the Chinese season, averaging 25.5 points and 6.5 assists per game.
