The Houston Rockets have been extremely active as the trade deadline gets very close, as star center Dwight Howard has been involved in a lot of talks. Houston hasn't been able to find a deal they like for Howard, so that makes the most likely Rocket to be dealt Ty Lawson. Lawson is fully expected to be dealt by the 3 p.m. deadline, but if he is not, the Rockets will strongly consider waiving him, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.
Lawson was the Rockets' big acquisition this offseason, as they hoped that he would be the piece that would take them over the top after making the Western Conference Finals last season. Lawson's fit with the Rockets has not been very good, and because of that, his role has been much smaller than anticipated. Houston has been trading to trade Lawson since the beginning of the season, but so far, they have not had any luck.
It was reported by Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune earlier this week that the Utah Jazz have had interest in Lawson for weeks, and talks seem to be serious. The deal being discussed would involve Trey Burke of the Jazz and Lawson, and those talks are in "advanced discussions," according to Stein. The deal between Utah and Houston is fully expected to happen, but just in case it does not, the Rockets have a plan B.
The Jazz have been looking for an upgrade at point guard for quite some time now, so it makes sense that they are eager to add more talent. But this is the NBA, and anything can happen, so it remains a possibility that these trade talks could hit a bump in the road. The only sure thing in this situation seems to be that Lawson will not finish the year with the Rockets, whether that's via trade or buyout.
You may wonder why the Jazz would trade for Lawson instead of just waiting for him to be bought out, but there are a couple of reasons. First, they likely won't have to give up anything crazy to acquire him. Yes, Burke has become a very good scorer off the bench, but he has made it clear that he wants to start somewhere. Second, if Lawson is bought out, he has his choice of teams and the Jazz would be no guarantee to land him.
