The Washington Wizards have reportedly added depth to their point guard position. Ahead of their playoff run, the Wizards have signed veteran Ty Lawson, according to Shams Charania of the Vertical.
Sources: Lawson received letter of clearance after his playoff run in China and signed for the rest of the season with the Wizards in time for NBA postseason. https://t.co/jUvbAskFCW
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 12, 2018
Lawson spent the past season in the Chines Basketball Association. He received a letter of clearance from the Shandong Golden Stars to return to the NBA for the playoffs. He averaged 25.5 points and 6.5 assists in 46 games with the Golden Stars.
The Clinton, Maryland native, averaged 12.7 points and six assists in eight seasons in the NBA. His peak was the 2014-15 season in which he averaged 15.2 points and 9.6 assists for the Denver Nuggets. However a DUI arrest in the summer of 2015 highlighted personal issues with drinking. Nuggets team president Josh Kroenke addressed Lawson’s issues with alcohol to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports, saying the team had tried to get him help multiple times before the arrest.
The Nuggets traded him to the Houston Rockets ahead of the 2015-16 season. After averaging 5.8 points and 3.4 assists in 53 games, the Rockets traded him to the Indiana Pacers to finish out the season. He appeared in 13 games for Indiana playing just 18.1 minutes per game. He signed with the Sacramento Kings in 2016-17 and averaged 9.9 points and 4.8 assists in 69 games.
After not getting a significant offer during the Summer of 2017, he signed a one year deal with the Golden Stars. He impressed in his time in China, and the Wizards had wanted Lawson for a while, showing their interest earlier this year but had to wait for his release from the Golden Stars.
Washington is in need of a ball handler that can drive to the lane and down defenders off the dribble for force spacing for shooters. With the return of John Wall, Washington will want to utilize Tomas Satoransky, who played well in Wall’s absence, with their star player on the floor, leaving a need for another ball handler on the floor with the second unit.
Lawson should be in game shape playing in China, and could provide a spark for 10 minutes or so at time. Given NBA rotations shrink in the postseason, Lawson won’t required for extended lengths of minutes. But his skill set and ability to push the pace and keep the motion in the offense is a premium the Wizards are lacking with their second unit.
