What does Ty Lawson truly want?
What does he desire for his future in the NBA, starting this coming season?
“I just wanna win,” the Nuggets point guard told me Friday, via text. “This is the first time I’ve ever had losing seasons in my life.”
Spoiled with early excesses of winning a college championship — and playoff appearances in his first few seasons — the Lawson of late comes off to me as frustrated, flustered, stuck and, frankly, a little lost. I don’t think he has an insatiable hunger to grow as a player. I don’t think he’s aware of how to win as much as he probably once thought he was.
Sure, he’ll work hard enough in the gym and in the weight room — most players do. And, sure, he’ll hustle on the court and often play with passion — most players do.
And yes, the Nuggets’ roster is rough.
But was Lawson doing the most he could to lead and win? I think we all know that answer.
Yet here’s the reality — Ty could very well be on the Nuggets next season.
Seriously.
Yes, they’ve tried to trade him, and they’ll continue to make and take calls. But they’re not going to just give away the guy. He’s got a pretty reasonable contract and some production value. In his “bad” season of 2014-15, he still averaged 15.2 points and 9.6 assists. You don’t just hand that to the Sacramento Kings. Faces of franchises aren’t fire sale’d.
Personally, I don’t think he’ll be a Nugget by training camp, but there aren’t any guarantees, guys.
The draft-night Internet video — Lawson smoking a hookah pipe and predicting a trade — was just strange. Athletes seldom post those types of videos. Now look, I’m not against hookah smoking, and I’m not against being laid back. I am against unaccountability. And I was surprised by his lack of awareness that the video might not come off as “cool.” Maybe it was a weird version of a cry for help, him admitting his career is at a crossroads?
I used to believe Lawson would separate himself from the pack of pretty good point guards; now he’s its poster child. I was there that night in Golden State, Game 3 in 2013, when he scored 35 points with 10 assists. Yes, Denver lost by two. But that night, he probably was the best player on the court, or, at worst, 1A to Stephen Curry.
Fast-forward to the drafting of Emmanuel Mudiay and the draft-night video.
“To be honest, I never even saw the video,” coach Michael Malone said Friday. “Ty Lawson is part of our Denver Nugget family and until that changes, I can’t wait to get to work with Ty. I’ve reached out to him already. He got back to me and, again, people automatically assume when you draft a point guard that means that Ty Lawson has to go. Ty Lawson’s a very talented player. We envision the possibility of playing both him and Emmanuel at times, and they’ll be a very tough lineup to defend.”
OK. But we all know Lawson is at his best with the ball in his hands. Mudiay told me Friday, when asked if he needs the ball in his hands: “Yes, I see myself as a point guard.”
What’s your take on Ty, Emmanuel?
“I know he’s been here for a while — he’s on the team right now,” Mudiay’s “right now” catching our ears. “So all I can do is go learn as much as I can from him.”
That all sounds good, but I had to ask — You didn’t enter the draft to be a backup point guard, right?
“I didn’t,” he said, obviously.
Denver craved Mudiay. Talking to some members of the Nuggets brass, it’s as if it’s still surreal that he’s actually a Denver Nugget.
And so, there’s Ty Lawson, slumped on the couch, stuck — wanting to win, wondering maybe if he ever will again.
When I first texted Lawson on Friday, he admitted his disdain for my negativity in print. Understandably so — I’ve been hard on him. I was there, after all, at the 35-point game.
I left Lawson with a pair of questions — What can you do more of or change that can elevate your team into a winner? Or are you doing all you can, and it’s a question of who the other players are on the team?
The point guard, perhaps fittingly, passed.
Benjamin Hochman: bhochman@denverpost.com or
