As part of his trade to the Rockets, Ty Lawson has agreed to make the final season of his contract non-guaranteed, sources tell Grantland’s Zach Lowe (Twitter link). It’s quite a forfeit for Lawson because he had been fully guaranteed $13,213,482 for the 2016/17 season. Lawson’s new guarantee date is the day following the NBA Finals, or the day after the draft — whichever one is later — Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets.
The non-guaranteed season gives the Rockets some peace of mind with the troubled point guard. Lawson entered a 30-day residential treatment program on Saturday. His latest DUI-related arrest came Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. It was the former Nuggets guard’s second such arrest in six months.
Lawson is due to make more than $12.404MM this season. As Lowe suggests (via Twitter), Lawson likely expects to be able to reel in more money with the salary cap’s expected rise next season.