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The writing was already on the wall for Ty Lawson's future with the Denver Nuggets when they drafted Emmanuel Mudiay. But when Lawson was arrested for his second DUI in six months last week, he went back over that writing with a Sharpie.
The legal troubles are only part of the headache that Lawson's been a part of in the past year. But on the court, he's still one of the better point guards in the league. So it makes sense that teams are interested in trying to buy low. But Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated suggests the Pistons may be one of those teams:
Despite a second DUI arrest in the last six months, embattled Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson is generating interest on the trade market, NBA sources told SI.com. Houston, Detroit and the L.A. Lakers are among the teams that have expressed interest in Lawson recently, and there remains a strong possibility the Nuggets could unload Lawson before training camp.
With Jennings recovering from injury and Dinwiddie still unproven, Detroit was recently in the market for an additional point guard behind Reggie Jackson. But they filled that spot earlier this week with a trade for Steve Blake.
Vince Ellis of Detroit Free Press weighed in on Twitter that the connection is probably based on old information, which makes sense.
I Tweeted earlier that it's probably old interest before they got Blake. https://t.co/6S8ZeRsGwb
— Vincent Ellis (@Vincent_Ellis56) July 17, 2015
SVG said there were a couple things they were exploring the day before the Blake trade. https://t.co/v8P9NdiETs
— Vincent Ellis (@Vincent_Ellis56) July 17, 2015
They were looking for insurance for Jennings' Achilles and they got it with Blake. https://t.co/ZOLzclJigI
— Vincent Ellis (@Vincent_Ellis56) July 17, 2015
Stan Van Gundy and general manager Jeff Bower have shown an inclination for pouncing when teams are interested in giving up talented players for little in return, so Lawson certainly fits their pattern in that way. But it seems unlikely that any additional conversations have resumed since the trade for Blake.
One possibility is a Brandon Jennings for Lawson swap, which might make some sense for both teams. Denver would get Lawson out of Dodge while also giving Mudiay a bit more support than just Jameer Nelson. Detroit would get a talent upgrade without the question marks you get with Jennings' recovery.
But there are more likely landing spots out there for Lawson. Most likely, this is just smoke without any fire as far as the Pistons are involved.