Ty Lawson Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Links: Thunder, Nuggets, T’Wolves, Jazz

October 4th, 2012 at 10:52pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK reports that Kevin Durant appears to have significantly added strength and bulk to his frame and could possibly find more playing time at the four spot this season. Mayberry also writes that an emphasis has been placed on rebounding at Thunder camp, and provides a collection of brief observations from practice today. Here are tonight's links from the Northwest division…

Brad Miller was invited by Rick Adelman to Timberwolves camp in Mankato for a few days as a special assistant coach, although Adelman is unsure if the former center will maintain a recurring role with the team once they return to Minnesota (Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune reports).
Randy Hollis of the Deseret News says that Mo Williams will bring much needed leadership to a Jazz locker room that features several players in their early 20s with limited NBA experience.
Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post takes note of Ty Lawson's development as seen by veteran guard Anthony Carter, who was a member of the Nuggets during Lawson's rookie season and finds himself back in Denver training camp after stints with New York and Toronto. In another article, Hochman says that according to George Karl, center Kosta Koufos has been the team's "best big guy in camp so far."
Even without Ricky Rubio in practices, the Timberwolves haven't deviated from the "corner offense" that coach Rick Adelman installed last season. Adelman also lauded the shooting prowess of rookie Alexey Shved and the surprising passing ability of center Nikola Pekovic during Thursday's scrimmages (Ray Richardson of TwinCities.com reports). On a side note, Jerry Zgoda of The Star Tribune tweets that Malcolm Lee missed practice due to groin tightness.
Heading into his third year in the NBA, Jazz forward Jeremy Evans says that he understands his role and "knows what to expect now" (Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune writes).
Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune reflects on how youth basketball coach Sandy Pyonin helped turn around Randy Foye's life around, as well as provides some background on how the Jazz guard refined his shooting abilities.

Ty Lawson, Others Leaving CAA

October 2nd, 2012 at 2:54pm CST by Luke Adams

On the heels of LeBron James' decision to leave Creative Artists Agency to join Rich Paul's newly-formed Klutch Sports Group, a number of other CAA clients appear to be leaving the agency, according to ESPN.com's Brian Windhorst. Windhorst reports that Ty Lawson, Tristan Thompson, Eric Bledsoe, and Cory Joseph are among the players filing paperwork to leave CAA.

Thompson, Bledsoe, and Joseph were clients of Paul's at CAA, so it's not a surprise that they'll follow him to Klutch Sports, as Windhorst writes. However, Lawson wasn't a Paul client, and is expected to hire Happy Walters, according to Windhorst. We heard last week that Walters and Dan Fegan were forming a new agency called Relativity Sports.

While many of these players are a ways off from signing new deals, Lawson's representation could play a major part in contract negotiations this month. Lawson is eligible for an extension of up to five years if he re-ups with Denver before October 31st, and both he and Nuggets GM Masai Ujiri have expressed optimism that an agreement will be reached.

Nuggets Notes: Lawson, McGee, Karl

October 1st, 2012 at 4:03pm CST by Luke Adams

We haven't heard many updates on Ty Lawson's contract negotiations with the Nuggets since the point guard expressed optimism back in July that the two sides would work out an extension this offseason. But both Lawson and the Nuggets stay positive about a deal getting done, as GM Masai Ujiri indicated at media day.

"Talks are good," Ujiri said, according to Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post. "We continue to talk. It never gets really serious until that date (October 31st) comes."

Here are few other Nuggets-related notes from media day:

According to Ujiri, JaVale McGee was working out with the team even before re-signing, and never seriously explored other opportunities or offers (Twitter link via Matt Moore of CBS Sports).
Lawson said that he feels as if the Nuggets are the best team in the West, according to Hochman. I'm not sure many pundits would agree with his assessment, but I do think Denver is the best bet to unseat the Lakers, Thunder, or Spurs as a top-three team out west.
Ujiri acknowledged that the Nuggets are still a "growing team," but both he and coach George Karl like the direction the club is headed, as Adrian Dater of the Denver Post writes. "I can't deny that this (was) the best September with the Denver Nuggets that I've had since I've been here," Karl said. "We had more guys in the gym and more committed guys to exactly how we're going to play."

Extension Candidate: Ty Lawson

July 25th, 2012 at 1:24pm CST by Luke Adams

When the 2012/13 NBA season officially began on July 1st, the Clippers moved quickly to lock up All-Star forward Blake Griffin to a maximum-salary, five-year extension. To date, Griffin is the player heading into the final year of his rookie deal that has signed a contract extension, but there's no shortage of potential candidates. Brandon Jennings, Tyreke Evans, Stephen Curry, Jrue Holiday, Taj Gibson, and the Thunder's much-discussed duo of James Harden and Serge Ibaka are all eligible for extensions as well. However, the next player we see receive a new deal may be a guy that was picked with just the 18th overall pick in 2009 — Ty Lawson.

Playing on a Nuggets team that features a number of young, talented players, Lawson is the next one in line for an extension. With Danilo Gallinari (four years, $42MM), Wilson Chandler (five years, $31.7MM), Arron Afflalo (five years, $36.8MM), and most recently JaVale McGee (four years, $44MM) all locked up, Lawson could receive a long-term contract that exceeds all of them.

In his three seasons so far in Denver, Lawson has progressed in exactly the way the team hoped. As his minutes increased from 20.3 per game in 2009/10 to 34.8 in 2011/12, his production increased as well, from 8.3 to 16.4 PPG and 16.4 to 19.4 PER. While Lawson had a terrific regular season this past year, he was at his best in the postseason, nearly helping to lead the Nuggets to a first-round upset over the Lakers by averaging 19.0 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 23.2 PER.

The Nuggets re-signed Andre Miller to a three-year deal earlier this month, and he'll provide a solid veteran presence at the point in Denver. But Lawson definitely seems to be the team's long-term answer at the position — the 24-year-old has told multiple outlets in recent weeks that he's optimistic about working out an extension with the Nuggets at some point this summer.

So what kind of deal could Lawson be looking at? A pair of beat writers recently weighed in on the subject, with Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post opining (via Twitter) that the floor for Lawson's next deal should be $11MM annually, exceeding McGee's guarantee. Chris Tomasson of FOX Sports Florida (Sulia link), meanwhile, tempered his expectations slightly, but conceded that the young point guard could become the Nuggets' third player to command an eight-digit annual salary.

The Nuggets' 2012/13 books won't be affected by a Lawson extension, which wouldn't take effect until 2013/14, but Denver's handful of long-term contracts means they don't have a ton of flexibility going forward. With McGee, Miller, and Anthony Randolph signed to multiyear deals, the Nuggets' '13/14 commitments total over $60MM — a figure that includes Al Harrington's $7MM+ salary, which is only partially guaranteed and could be waived or traded. Still, an eight-digit salary for Lawson would take the Nuggets well over the cap, and could even see them approaching the tax threshold, depending on their other moves.

Lawson's annual salary could also vary depending on whether the Nuggets are willing to give him a five-year deal. A team is only allowed to sign one player coming off a rookie scale contract to a five-year contract, and it's hard to see why Lawson wouldn't be that designated player for Denver. He's a better candidate than other Nuggets on rookie deals, such as Kenneth Faried and Evan Fournier, and the team is unlikely to land a lottery pick anytime soon. If the Nuggets were to offer Lawson five years rather than four, perhaps they could reduce the annual cap hit slightly, in exchange for a larger overall guarantee.

Will a core of Lawson, McGee, Gallinari, Chandler, Afflalo, Faried, Fournier, and the rest ever be enough to challenge for a title? That much is still unclear, but so far the Nuggets have done a good job of signing multiyear deals that are still fairly movable if the team decides to move in another direction. Lawson seems to be heading for a long-term contract worth around $10MM annually, and based on his development in the first three years of his NBA career, that's another deal that should never become an albatross for Denver.

Ty Lawson Optimistic About Contract Extension

July 18th, 2012 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

WEDNESDAY, 1:04pm: Lawson remains hopeful that a contract extension with the Nuggets will be finalized in the near future.

"We’ve already been negotiating and talking about it," Lawson told Lang Greene of HoopsWorld. "So my agent and the team will probably come to an agreement real soon.”

FRIDAY, 3:23pm: The Nuggets have yet to be linked to any outside free agent this summer, but it's been a busy month for the team nonetheless. Denver re-signed Andre Miller to a three-year deal, made a five-year offer to JaVale McGee, and could also be working on an extension for Ty Lawson. According to Chris Dempsey of the Denver Post, Lawson is optimistic that he and the Nuggets will finalize a long-term extension in "the next month or two" (Twitter link).

Western Notes: Mavs, Ty Lawson, Tim Duncan

June 10th, 2012 at 9:54am CST by Daniel Seco

The Thunder found out on Saturday evening that they'll be taking on the Heat in the NBA Finals beginning on Tuesday in Oklahoma City. The Lakers and Spurs will look to the Thunder to continue an over decade-long trend of Western Conference dominance that began during the 1998/1999 season. With a series victory over Miami, the Thunder will bring the streak of the West winning the Larry O'Brien Trophy to four seasons in a row and 11 of the last 14 overall. Let's catch up on the latest rumors and stories making headlines from around the Western Conference…

Northwest Notes: Miller, Lawson, Blazers

May 17th, 2012 at 3:31pm CST by Luke Adams

The last team standing out of the Northwest, the Thunder head to Los Angeles having yet to lose a single game this postseason. As Oklahoma City looks to continue that streak, here's the latest on a couple of their Northwest Division rivals:

The Nuggets and Andre Miller have a mutual interest in bringing the point guard back to Denver for next season, according to GM Masai Ujiri (link via NBA.com).
The Nuggets' "other" point guard, Ty Lawson will be one of the top candidates for a contract extension among players heading into their fourth year, as Derek Page of HoopsWorld writes. Page estimates that five years at $60-65MM could be Lawson's price. A five-year deal would make Lawson Denver's "designated player," so we'll see if the team is willing to make that commitment.
Dave Deckard of Blazer's Edge explains why he doesn't think it makes sense for the Trail Blazers to pursue top restricted free agents this offseason.
Despite recent denials from team owner Paul Allen and commissioner David Stern, Dwight Jaynes of CSNNW.com sticks to his story that the Blazers' franchise might be available.

Lawson, Nuggets To Discuss Extension?

May 14th, 2012 at 8:30am CST by Luke Adams

Ty Lawson's 2011/12 season may be over, but the point guard and his Nuggets certainly made the Lakers sweat before bowing out. In seven games against Los Angeles, Lawson averaged 19.0 PPG and 6.0 APG on 51.4% shooting.

Although Lawson won't be a free agent this summer, he has just one year remaining on his rookie contract, making him eligible for restricted free agency next summer. And it sounds like he wouldn't mind avoiding free agency by signing a long-term deal with the Nuggets. The 24-year-old tells Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post that a contract extension is "definitely a goal."

"I want to be here long-term," Lawson said. "I'm pretty sure my agent and Masai [Ujiri, the Nuggets' executive vice president of basketball operations] will talk this summer."

Lawson's camp can begin discussing an extension in July with the Nuggets and Ujiri, who calls the point guard a "big part" of the team going forward. The Nuggets could extend Lawson for up to another five years beyond 2012/13, though a four-year offer may be more likely. Teams are only permitted to sign five-year extensions for one "designated player" at a time — if Lawson received a five-year extension, Denver would be unable to sign another five-year extension for the duration of his contract.

As Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld points out, the Nuggets would send the right message by agreeing to an extension with Lawson, but it could limit the team's ability to add talent in the near future. Denver is already committed to long-term deals for Danilo Gallinari, Arron Afflalo, and Wilson Chandler, and will be attempting to re-sign JaVale McGee as well. Extending Lawson early would further reduce the club's future cap flexibility, but given his play this season, it may be worth it.