NBA Rumors: Should the Denver Nuggets waive Ty Lawson, instead of waiting until his trade market re-develops?
More from Sir Charles In Charge
- LeBron James working to assemble super team for USA Basketball in 2024
- Dillon Brooks proved his value to Houston Rockets in the 2023 FIBA World Cup
- NBA Trade Rumors: 1 Player from each team most likely to be traded in-season
- Golden State Warriors: Buy or sell Chris Paul being a day 1 starter
- Does Christian Wood make the Los Angeles Lakers a legit contender?
Everyone involved — even opposing teams — expect Ty Lawson to get traded at some point this offseason. It was a matter of when and what for, not necessarily if. Nevertheless, that ship has now sailed. If the Denver Nuggets would try to trade Lawson, the best that they could get is either an expiring contract or a second-round pick.
And instead of trying to sell to the lowest bidder, which they would essentially be doing if they decided to pull the trigger on a Lawson deal, the Nuggets could essentially just waive the 27-year-old point guard and finally be done with him.
After being busted for his second DUI arrest in the last six months, that might be the best option for the Nuggets — which is something that is being considered at the moment.
Denver Nuggets considering waiving Ty Lawson after latest DUI arrest, per #NBA sources. Lawson has two years, $25.6 mil left on contract.
— Mitch Lawrence (@Mitch_Lawrence) July 14, 2015
Ideally, the Nuggets would be able to trade Lawson for something, anything. But after two DUI arrests in the last six months, that could prove to be a difficult deal to get done.
And if they do indeed decide to waive Lawson, they’ll have a few options. Denver could either decide to use the stretch provision (before Aug. 31), which would essentially pay Lawson a little more than $5 million over the next five years. Or, they could simply waive him (without using the stretch provision) and, in the event he doesn’t get claimed, would then pay him the $25-plus million he’s due over the next two seasons — $12.4 million in 2015-16 and $13.2 million in 2016-17.
A final options involves Denver using the stretch provision after Aug. 31. In that scenario, the Nuggets would pay Lawson the $12.4 million he’s owed this season and a little over $4 million over the following three years.
Either way, if the Nuggets can’t find a team that is willing to roll the dice on Lawson, it appears that they’re going to have to eat the $25 million he’s due, whether it be at a discounted rate over five, or four, years or at its face value over the next two seasons.
A question for the Nuggets could also be: how bad do they want to part ways with Lawson?
If they elect to swap him for, say, a second-round pick or an expiring contract, it could take some time before a market for a troubled point guard actually comes tougher. Potentially until a team loses a point guard to injury, which could very well happen early in the season.
Problem is, I’m not sure the Nuggets want Lawson anywhere around the team, and certainly not around their young and supremely talented point guard Emmanuel Mudiay.
Denver definitely has plenty of options — and they’ll likely exercise one of those three discussed above. Lawson will not be a part of the 2015-16 Nuggets. That can almost be said with certainty.