The Kings are hoping Lawson can once again be a threat to opposing defenses

The Sacramento Kings have signed free-agent point guard Ty Lawson to a one-year deal, and with that have added another eyebrow raising personality to the locker room.

The news was broke Sunday night by The Vertical.

Lawson, 28, averaged 5.7 points and 3.6 assists playing last season for the Houston Rockets and Indiana Pacers. Those numbers and a handful of others not worth mentioning were career-lows for the seven-year man out of North Carolina.

What’s been lost among Lawson’s off the court antics including two DUIs and other alcohol-related issues, is an early career as one of the NBA’s top offensive juggernauts as a point guard.

Lawson spent his first six NBA seasons (2009-15) with the Denver Nuggets. He averaged 17.6 points and 8.8 assists per game in 2013-14, and backed that up with 15.2 points and 9.6 assists the following year – his last in the mile-high city.

In an NBC Sports article, Lawson was quoted saying that wherever he signed, “they’re going to get me for cheaper than I feel I’m worth … I feel like I’m overlooked in free agency.”

Given the lasting memories of how great Lawson was just a few years ago, he could be right. But it seems as though the only things Kings management overlooked are Lawson’s past transgressions and accusations of not seeing eye-to-eye with his coaches.

The price, the lack of point guard depth, a dire need to win more games and providing a fresh looking team for the fresh new Golden 1 Center next season are just a handful of reasons why the Kings are taking a flyer on Lawson.

If this is sounding familiar to fans in Sacramento it’s because just last year, they took a flyer on a point guard by the name a Rajon Rondo – who may have successfully resurrected his individual career, but certainly didn’t help the Kings win more games along the way.

Lawson is a different kind of player though. One who can score at will from inside and out and distribute the ball to positions two through five.

By the way, in Lawson’s best year as a Nugget, he was playing alongside: Randy Foye, Kenneth Faried, Wilson Chandler, J.J. Hickson and Timofey Mozgov. The Sacramento Kings and their fans would like to believe that their current roster at face value is better than that of Lawson’s Nuggets.

Now it’s up to new head coach Dave Joerger to figure out exactly how, and how much, Lawson will be involved. It doesn’t seem likely that Darren Collison will be unseated as the starter for the second year in a row. Not after the crummy year Lawson had and the very good year for Collison.

The new deal gives Lawson a chance to prove to the critics that he can still be that explosive player from the Denver days.

Kurt Helin of ProBasketballTalk.com had one of many first reactions to the signing. He told Bleacher Report he believes “the Kings will start Darren Collison at the point, but Lawson should get a decent run as a backup.

The Kings’ new two-deep at the point with Collison and Lawson looks a lot better than in many recent years:

(Top-two minutes-leading point guards for Sacramento)

2015-16: Rajon Rondo, Darren Collison

2014-15: Darren Collison, Ray McCallum

2013-14: Isaiah Thomas, Ray McCallum

2012-13: Isaiah Thomas, Aaron Brooks

2011-12: Isaiah Thomas, Jimmer Fredette

2010-11: Beno Udrih, Eugene Jeter

Yes, Tyreke Evans brought the ball up the floor for Sacramento during a number of those years. However, he was never listed as a point guard for the Kings and because he wasn’t given the reins as a point guard, he never had another year like his rookie campaign and is now in a different city.

At this point in the calm of the offseason, it seems like the Kings have nothing to lose by taking a shot with Lawson. But what will this decision look like if the Kings are 10 games under .500 at the All-Star break?

After buying low on him, the Kings are hoping that Lawson can once again be the devastating threat to opposing defenses that he was in Denver. After the disappointment of last year though, he has to work equally as hard on his game as he does on his character for this marriage to be a success.

https://audioboom.com/boos/4987963-ck-podcast-256-breaking-down-the-signing-of-ty-lawson

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