Ty Lawson Trade Rumors: Houston Rockets Working Out Trade With Utah Jazz
Ty Lawson trade rumors now have some traction with the Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz. The Ty Lawson trade rumors have been floating around a lot over the past 24 hours, with the Rockets linked to several different teams. A report from the Salt Lake Tribune now states that the Rockets and Jazz have entered into negotiations to swap point guards. The deal would likely send Lawson to the Jazz in exchange for Trey Burke and another player.
The Houston Rockets pay Lawson about $12.4 million and he is under contract for $13.2 million next year. The 2016-17 NBA season is not guaranteed for Lawson, so the team he plays for can decide to simply cut him to get out of paying the full contract. Trey Burke only makes about $2.7 million this season and then about $3.4 million next year. It requires that at least one additional player get added to the deal to match salaries.
One player that has been mentioned on Twitter as a possibility for being added to the deal is Trevor Booker. Booker makes about $4.8 million this season and would get the teams closer to the required matching salaries. The negotiations that are taking place could also lead to a draft pick getting added by either side. The exact terms of the deal haven’t been revealed by the teams yet.
These Ty Lawson trade rumors make sense for the Houston Rockets if the intent is to add a young point guard for the next few seasons. Trey Burke is in just his third NBA season with the Utah Jazz and has been coming off the bench this year. He has averages of 11.8 points, 2.6 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game. Burke is a decent three-point shooter at 35 percent and can help add some energy to the Rockets. He doesn’t bring star power, but also has an inexpensive contract for at least one more NBA season.
Lawson has been mostly coming off the bench for the Rockets this season, playing in 48 of their first half games. In 23.4 minutes a night Lawson is averaging 6.3 points, 3.6 assists, and 1.8 rebounds per game. His shooting percentages are way down, but he is also just a season removed from averaging 15.2 points and 9.6 assists a game for the Denver Nuggets. A change of scenery could certainly do him some good, even if he isn’t keen on playing for the Utah Jazz.
Ty Lawson should really see these trade rumors as a wake-up call, because he has fallen from being a star point guard to nearly getting dumped by a second team in two years. The former North Carolina guard will need to take advantage of his playing time in the second half if he wants to get a nice contract in free agency. Though he is still under contract through the 2016-17 NBA season, his new team has the option to simply cut him loose.
The most interesting thing about these Lawson trade rumors are that they hint at a deal between two teams battling for the same spot in the 2016 NBA Playoffs. The Utah Jazz hold the eighth spot in the West at 26-26 and are just ahead of the ninth place Houston Rockets at 27-28. It’s likely that just one of these two teams will be playing in the postseason, making a transaction between the two competitors very intriguing.
The 2016 NBA trade deadline hits at 12 p.m. PT on Thursday, February 18. This gives the Rockets and Jazz very little time to work out the negotiations. Neither team has commented publicly, but it does appear that a Ty Lawson for Trey Burke trade could work quite easily based on how the rosters look. The other players that may be included in the deal remain a short-term mystery.
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