On Monday I was dangerously close to writing an article titled, “Why haven’t the Nuggets traded Ty Lawson yet.” You can imagine what it was about.
While I’m not here to say I told you so, I also feel it’s appropriate to acknowledge Tim Connelly and the Nuggets have made a giant mistake with Lawson, (A) for letting him metastasize with little to no reprimand, and (B) because they failed to trade him while his value was still relatively high.
There is a reason people have been outraged on social media as to why Lawson has stuck around for so long. Because unlike Carmelo Anthony in 2010-11, it’s not just that Lawson doesn’t want to be in Denver and hasn’t for some time — it’s that in the last year and a half he’s indulged in criminal activity, repeatedly trashed the Nuggets franchise online, shown a complete lack of respect for his teammates and coaches, all while simultaneously decreasing his trade value and maiming the Nuggets as a result.
I never thought I’d EVER say this, but Carmelo Anthony was probably right in tipping his own hat to himself for playing well and remaining mute back in the winter of 2011 amidst the social media wildfire that engulfed the Nuggets following Anthony’s proclamation about wanting to relocate to the Big Apple. Because unlike Lawson, at least Anthony gave the Nuggets respect, production and an opportunity to salvage their franchise in return for shipping him out of town.
Lawson wouldn’t know the meaning of respect if Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding slapped him across the jaw crisscross.
Even if you want to give the Nuggets the benefit of the doubt and suggest they didn’t botch this until recently when Lawson really started acting up, the fact is they’ve had six months since his second DUI in January to work on trade deals and three months since he publicly stated he’d rather be with the Dallas Mavericks than the Denver Nuggets to actually execute one. That is simply far too much time to not trade someone you’ve known you wanted to move since season’s end, especially given how obvious his trade value was exponentially decreasing with each passing “incident.”
No matter what side you fall on with Lawson, you cannot deny the Nuggets messed this one up big time. Plain and simple. This was not waiting for the right deal, monitoring the phones until the trade deadline as teams outbid one another for one of the best pure scorers in league history, as was the case with Anthony — this was blatant neglect. Unreasonable misjudgement. A truly inflated conceptualization of the true value of your assets. Lawson should have been gone on draft night — even if the Nuggets didn’t get the value they felt they deserved in return — and it should be Emmanuel Mudiay and the Nuggets’ awesome Summer League team we’re talking about right now. Instead, Nuggets fans, the organization and Connelly especially, must somehow endure a lengthy reclamation project to flip a wayward rebel into a prom queen — a professional sports franchise’s specialty!
Of course, one of the more unfortunate aspects of this ordeal is how it’s tainted an otherwise quietly impressive summer for Connelly. In addition to writing an article questioning why it’s taken the Nuggets so long to move Lawson, I was also planning on writing a piece lauding Connelly for his shrewdness in the draft and free agency. Yet as a result of Lawson’s most recent run-in with the law, both of these pronouncements have been put on hold.
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While I feel beyond unqualified to diagnose Lawson from a distance, as should you — even those with fancy neuroscience degrees and years of personal experience dealing with insubordination — I also feel confident in saying Ty Lawson clearly has a problem. What exactly that is, I’m quite unsure. But it’s crystal clear that at least part of his problem is lack of lucidity and subsequent decision making. Luckily, these ailments can be cured with assistance — just as long as the subject wants to be cured. At this point, I don’t think Lawson has a choice.
Whether the Nuggets deem Lawson qualified for a rehab facility is anyone’s guess. Again, the realm of athlete drug rehabilitation is murky territory for most fans and I certainly don’t have the authority or knowledge to suggest any sort of pathway in this regard. Here, however, is what I am absolutely certain of:
Ty Lawson is still part of the Nuggets family. Tim Connelly, Josh Kroenke and the rest of the Nuggets higher-ups decided this when they elected not to trade him leading up to the draft. And as part of a family you stick together through the ups and downs of life no matter how much a given member oscillates in either direction. Not once have the Nuggets disciplined Lawson properly to ensure he learns from his mistakes and therefore they must reap the seeds they’ve sowed. Similar to a parent caring for a troubled child, pain and suffering are essential in the process of healing, growth and restoration. Bailing on Lawson now is no different from abandoning a child in the extreme throes of adolescent tribulations.
The Nuggets have chosen their destiny and their destiny has also chosen them unbeknownst. Taking the easy route now by waiving Lawson (as a recent report suggests) is nothing but a cop out, leaving this story halfway complete, entirely unwritten and in utter shambles. It would be unprofessional and more than anything, irresponsible from the standpoint of a multimillion-dollar business that specializes in athlete health. (Remember, good health encompasses all aspects of the body, including the mind!)
The Nuggets now have an obligation, one they’ve bestowed upon themselves. They are now in this for the long haul. They must nurse Lawson back to life from his current state of ashen dust and part ways collectively, on good terms, each wishing the other the best of luck in the future.
That’s the way it has to be. Anything else just wouldn’t be right.
