Ty Lawson was traded by the Denver Nuggets to the Houston Rockets last week, and now the stories about the severity of his alcohol issues are coming to light.
Lawson was popped for a DUI last week, making it two DUI arrests for him this year alone. He entered a 30-day rehab program that will hopefully help him change.
The two DUIs give us a strong idea of his drinking and judgment, but there’s even more to it than that. Nuggets president Josh Kroenke says Lawson used to party pretty hard and they could smell it on the point guard at practice.
“He always had an affinity for burning the candle at both ends,” Kroenke told Yahoo Sports’ Marc J. Spears. “We want to give our players freedom to be young guys as well. We’re not going to be drill sergeants. But we want our guys to be able to handle their personal lives on their own.
“Ty … there were times when he was better than others. But the problems have been there for several years, going back to when we were having a lot of on-court success. I don’t want to go back too far. There were just a lot of times where you were at practice and you just know. You could smell it. You know there is probably deeper issues than he would probably let on.”
Lawson skipped the team’s first practice after the All-Star break in February, and the team knew they would have to part ways with him at some point thereafter. They eventually traded him to the Rockets, who believe he can help put them over the top.
Not only is Lawson working to clean up his act, but he’ll probably also have to make amends with James Harden once he talks with his new teammates.
H/T Deadspin
Photo: Twitter/Ty Lawson
