Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson may get his wish for a trade. Team president Josh Kroenke didn't rule out listening to offers for any of his players, offers that Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post believes will be centered around Lawson and teammate Kenneth Faried.
Lawson made headlines last month when he presumably told an NBA fan on Instagram that he wished he could play for the Dallas Mavericks. Since then, a report from Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler claimed the word around the league was Lawson indeed wanted out of Denver and preferred the Mavericks if he were traded.
When Kroenke spoke to reporters Thursday, he didn't rule out the possibility of dealing Lawson - or anybody else on the roster - if it netted the team assets to use in retooling.
"There's a lot of ways to skin the cat. But one of them is through free agency, one of them is through the draft and the other one is through trades," Kroenke said, according to the Post. "We're going to try to improve our roster until we truly have that core of guys who can compete for something for a lengthy period of time."
Denver reportedly was open in February to trading any of its players for the right place, including Lawson. The speedy 27-year-old guars and Faried, even in light of his recent contract extension, are the Nuggets' two best assets and the two likeliest Nuggets whom teams will call about.
"While Kroenke steadfastly refuses to offer specific names when talking about plans to aggressively retool the roster prior to opening night of the next NBA season," Kiszla wrote Thursday, "it's realistic to expect point guard Ty Lawson or forward Kenneth Faried or both to be part of trade discussions prior to the June 25 draft."
Moreover, the two players stand to fetch Kroenke the greatest return in any potential trade. Kroenke's reported asking price for Lawson in February was two first-round draft picks. A middle-of-the-road team in playoff purgatory - a team unable to escape the first round, like the Dallas Mavericks or, up until this season, the Atlanta Hawks - might be willing to pay that price knowing their pair of picks would be mid-rounders anyways.
It's also possible the asking price drops. If Kroenke did decide to go for a total or semi-total rebuild, he may relent on the two first-round picks and instead package a bad contract. Expensive expiring contracts aren't as valuable as they used to be, and Kroenke could see trading Lawson as an opportunity to get a pick and dump a hefty deal like center J.J. Hickson's $5.6 million or, if Kroenke does go for a total rebuild, forward Danilo Gallinari's $11.5 million.
As mentioned, Dallas appears to be the de facto landing spot for Lawson. Although no reports have explicitly claimed the Mavericks are interested in Lawson, the team's need for a talented point guard makes them a natural candidate for him. Rajon Rondo will leave in free agency, and even if Monta Ellis exercises his player option, Ellis's future with the team beyond next season is uncertain and the Mavericks will still need a 1-guard. Lawson's speed would instantly upgrade Dallas' transition game, and his 15.6 points and 9.6 assists - third best in the league - per game this season prove he's a playmaker. Lawson's contract still has $25.5 million remaining on it, but the Mavericks wouldn't have to worry about him hitting free agency until July 2017.
The Mavericks' 2015 first-rounder they traded to the Boston Celtics for Rajon Rondo in December was top 3 and Nos. 15-30 protected, according to Pro Sports Transactions. Since Dallas' record landed it the No. 21 pick, the team will retain it (the Mavericks owe Boston their first-round pick next summer if it falls out of the top 7).
The Sacramento Kings are another possible contender for Lawson. Bleacher Report reported coach George Karl wanted to acquire his former player and trying to do so would be one of his first moves this summer. Given the scarcity of point guards in this upcoming free agency class, don't be surprised to hear a number of other suitors emerge for Lawson.
