Denver Nuggets quick point guard, Ty Lawson, and the front office have a decision to make, and they don’t have time on their side as the extension deadline is on Wednesday, October 31st.
It was reported last week that Denver was offering Lawson a 4-year, $45 million contract, which seemed like a fair price for a player who has Tony Parker’s ceiling, but David Aldridge reports Lawson rejected that offer.
Lawson turned down a four-year offer worth $45 million earlier this month, according to league sources, which would have made him one of the highest paid point guards in the league.
However, the two sides are still talking and hoping to hammer out a deal by tomorrow’s deadline:
The Denver Nuggets are getting closer to making a deal with guard Ty Lawson on a contract extension before Wednesday’s deadline for 2009 Draft picks, according to a league source.
My take:
While it’s easy to say “Don’t pay Ty Lawson, he hasn’t proved himself” that’s not completely true. Yes, he’s not consistent with his aggression, but he’s absolutely one of the most impactful, efficient, and dynamic point guards in the league. He can slice up defense like swiss cheese, attacks the basket with ease, sets up the offense, is an above average shooter from deep; basically Denver should just pony up.
He has steadily improved each season he’s been in Denver.
In his second season in the NBA(2010-2011), he averaged 11.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game while playing 26.3 minutes. Last year? Lawson is averaging 16.4 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 6.6 assists while playing 34.8 minutes.
Yes, he only played 61 games to the 80 from the season prior, but the fact is he is improving since his rookie season.
He led the Nuggets during the playoffs in points, 19.6, and assists, 6, and he also averaged 1.3 steals per game this season in addition to shooting 48.8% from the field.
Yes, Ty Lawson is learning to becoming more than a traditional point guard — the pass first mentality — and take it upon himself to not defer, but use his speed and athleticism to his advantage. His advantage??
Embarrassing many of the other point guards in the league by giving them whiplash.
Coach George Karl engrained it into Ty Lawson’s mindset that he needs him to be much more than a facilitator, Denver needed an aggressive Ty Lawson and when Ty is aggressive, Denver wins.
Some state — even myself — that Lawson isn’t the leader that he should be with Denver, but then again, leadership often takes experience and having the “restricted free agent” over his head all season may just be a horrible distraction.
His inconsistent aggressiveness has leaked into arguments, but when he is on; he’s spot on.
In fact, once Lawson took on that role, he scored 20 or more points in 21 games during the regular season in 2011-12. That equated to 33% of his games last year, that he was ON. A bit of perspective, Lawson had 17 games of 20 or more points in his entire NBA career before last season and, in three years in college, he had just 17 games where he scored 20 or more points.
Analysis: Scoring wasn’t such a huge component for Ty Lawson’s game until last season and he was able to do what he did in two pro years in one-third of a season.
That’s progress and remarkable.
If Denver, for whatever reason it might be, let’s Lawson become a restricted free agent and a team does offer him a poison pill contract, Denver may just be kicking themselves them.
Lawson is the pivotal piece of Denver’s offense, I understand their hesitancy of paying him top dollar, but it’s best to have him than not to have him at all.
