Is Ty Lawson Worth A Shot?

The Sacramento Kings have made lots of great free agency pickups this offseason. Kosta Koufos, Rajon Rondo, Marco Belinelli, Luc Mbah a Moute and James Anderson have all been added to Sacramento’s roster so far, and Vlade Divac also added Willie Trill Cauley-Stein through the draft, to make the Kings’ roster stronger than it’s been in years.

But what if there’s another move left to be made? I think there’s going to be one more shot to add a true impact player who could come in and take this Kings’ roster from good to great, and it shouldn’t cost much. I’m talking, of course, about Ty Lawson.

Probably the most controversial subject on Kings twitter and reddit lately has been Lawson. The troubled 27-year-old was recently arrested for his second DUI in a single year, and his Denver Nuggets may be close to releasing him:

Clearly, Lawson is having some serious problems at the moment. He needs to address those, and really does not have any excuse for his actions of late. That’s not to say that he had a great situation in Denver (read: he did not) and I’m sure his team falling apart around him and the Nuggets drafting his replacement in Emmanuel Mudiay wasn’t easy for the veteran guard.

But that’s no excuse for a lone DUI, let alone two. But making mistakes is human, despite the dangerous, irresponsible and stupid nature of the mistakes Lawson has made. He needs a change of scenery, and more importantly a change of attitude.

The Sacramento Kings cannot provide the second of those changes (only Lawson himself can), but they can–and should–provide some new scenery for Lawson if given a chance to do so. If the Nuggets do release Lawson and Vlade can pick him up at a reasonable deal he’s worth the chance that he can’t end up straightening out.

Lawson is a great player, that’s unquestionable. Last season he averaged over 15 points and nearly ten assists per game, showing that he can both score and dish the ball with ease. He’s also a career 37 percent shooter from three-point range, so he covers Rondo’s inability to shoot at least a little bit.

A Lawson-Rondo backcourt would be a lot of fun, and potentially win a lot of games. They’re both ace passers, meaning the offense would be opened up in Sacramento like it never has been before. They also cover each others’ weaknesses: Rondo can rebound, Lawson can’t. Lawson has range, Rondo doesn’t.

Just think about the talent on that whole starting lineup! Rondo, Lawson, Rudy Gay, Willie Trill Cauley-Stein and DeMarcus Cousins? That’s a legitimately great starting five, with Darren Collison, Ben McLemore, Omri Casspi, Marco Belinelli and Kosta Koufos all coming off of the bench. That’s a really deep team.

This entire offseason I’ve seen Kings fans have the same attitude–this thing will either blow up, or be the best Kings team in well over a decade. I think adding Lawson would be the ultimate last play, and perfectly aligned with that mantra.

The Sacramento Kings are all-in on winning now, both to placate Boogie and just to remember how it feels to not be an NBA joke again. Adding a high-caliber player like Ty Lawson (who’s worked with George Karl before) is a high-stakes move, to be sure. If it goes wrong, this team could explode from a lack of chemistry.

But that’s been said when Karl was brought in, when Rondo was brought in, when Josh Smith was rumored to be brought in and now. If it’s going to happen, it’ll happen with or without Lawson. The Kings are trusting Karl, Vlade and the players they’ve brought in to all coalesce and create a winning team out of the odds and ends they’ve managed to assemble in Sacramento.

So I say if Ty Lawson wants to come to the Sacramento Kings, let’s bring him in. Because if he increases the chance the Kings’ powder keg locker room finally erupts, he also increases the chance the Kings finally get out of the lottery and make the playoffs.

That’s a gamble I’ll take every single time.

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