NuGGeTs-FaN
06-26-2009, 01:35 PM
This time, the Nuggets used the draft for its intended purpose — to get a player.
The Nuggets stayed true to their history of trading draft picks, but Thursday night it was to acquire the reserve point guard help they sorely needed. As a result, North Carolina guard Ty Lawson is now a Nugget. The Nuggets traded a first-round pick in 2010, one they received from Charlotte, to Minnesota for the draft rights to Lawson, whom the Timberwolves took with the 18th pick.
"I'm real excited," Lawson said via a conference call. "I came in last year and worked out, and hopefully if I stayed in the draft, I was getting picked by them. I'm real excited to learn from Chauncey Billups and just learn the system. Coach (George) Karl is a UNC
2009 NBA Draft
View slide show of newest Nuggets guard Ty Lawson.
Find profiles, draft order, team needs, early entries and more.
alum. I can't wait to get down there."
With their second-round pick, No. 34 overall, the Nuggets selected Sergio Llull, a guard from Spain, and then traded his rights to Houston for cash considerations.
Karl, right arm in a sling after recent rotator cuff surgery, beamed as he talked about the draft while wearing a North Carolina baseball cap.
"From the assets that we've had, it's the best draft we've had since I've been here," Karl said.
Lawson's contract will start at $1.198 million and escalate to $1.288 and $1.378 million the next two seasons.
Lawson is a player the Nuggets liked a year ago when he tested the NBA waters as a sophomore — even working out for the Nuggets — but went back to college. Now, he could be the backup for Billups next season if Anthony Carter, an unrestricted free agent, does not return. The point guard pick did not take Carter's camp by surprise. Carter's agent, Bill Duffy, said he and his client expected the Nuggets to "protect themselves" by filling a need.
Karl still wants Carter on the roster. Free agents can begin negotiating with teams July 1.
"My hope is we can get A.C. back and Chauncey and have Ty as a guy that will work hard and prove that he's got to
Ty Lawson was the point man in North Carolina's NCAA title-game victory over Michigan State, scoring 21 points. (AP file photo)play sometime," Karl said. "But he's a great talent. Over the last four or five years, I've become more and more impressed by little guards because you just can't cover them."
Lawson provides a lot of positives for the Nuggets. First, he makes the team younger at the position. Billups will turn 33 this year, and Carter is 34. Lawson is 21. Second, he figures to help upgrade the offensive output from the position and can run a team.
He's also a winner, having led the Tar Heels to the 2009 NCAA title. The second-team AP All-American also won the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's top point guard, and was named to the all-Final Four team. He left school after his junior season.
"He's got blazing speed, and that's something
that you can't teach," Nuggets vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman said. "As far as how long it's going to take (to get him in the rotation), a lot of that is up to Ty. He'll come in here and he's going to have to earn it, just like any other player does."
Lawson averaged 16.6 points and 6.6 assists last season. Aside from his size (5-feet-11, 195 pounds), the biggest knock on Lawson is a shaky jump shot. But he improved that by leaps and bounds from his sophomore to junior seasons, improving his 3-point shooting from 36.1 percent to 47.2 percent (51-for-108).
There isn't any doubt in his mind he'll come in and play well.
"I feel like I'm better than most of the point guards in that draft," Lawson said. "You know the way the NBA is, they are all about height measurements and arm measurements. Right now, I'm ready to prove people wrong, and show all the (general managers) that passed up on me what they just lost."
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_12693143
:lobt2: :lol
Great job by the Nuggets FO and best of all, it means Carter is GONE or only coming back on another 1 yr cheap deal :hat:lmao
The Nuggets stayed true to their history of trading draft picks, but Thursday night it was to acquire the reserve point guard help they sorely needed. As a result, North Carolina guard Ty Lawson is now a Nugget. The Nuggets traded a first-round pick in 2010, one they received from Charlotte, to Minnesota for the draft rights to Lawson, whom the Timberwolves took with the 18th pick.
"I'm real excited," Lawson said via a conference call. "I came in last year and worked out, and hopefully if I stayed in the draft, I was getting picked by them. I'm real excited to learn from Chauncey Billups and just learn the system. Coach (George) Karl is a UNC
2009 NBA Draft
View slide show of newest Nuggets guard Ty Lawson.
Find profiles, draft order, team needs, early entries and more.
alum. I can't wait to get down there."
With their second-round pick, No. 34 overall, the Nuggets selected Sergio Llull, a guard from Spain, and then traded his rights to Houston for cash considerations.
Karl, right arm in a sling after recent rotator cuff surgery, beamed as he talked about the draft while wearing a North Carolina baseball cap.
"From the assets that we've had, it's the best draft we've had since I've been here," Karl said.
Lawson's contract will start at $1.198 million and escalate to $1.288 and $1.378 million the next two seasons.
Lawson is a player the Nuggets liked a year ago when he tested the NBA waters as a sophomore — even working out for the Nuggets — but went back to college. Now, he could be the backup for Billups next season if Anthony Carter, an unrestricted free agent, does not return. The point guard pick did not take Carter's camp by surprise. Carter's agent, Bill Duffy, said he and his client expected the Nuggets to "protect themselves" by filling a need.
Karl still wants Carter on the roster. Free agents can begin negotiating with teams July 1.
"My hope is we can get A.C. back and Chauncey and have Ty as a guy that will work hard and prove that he's got to
Ty Lawson was the point man in North Carolina's NCAA title-game victory over Michigan State, scoring 21 points. (AP file photo)play sometime," Karl said. "But he's a great talent. Over the last four or five years, I've become more and more impressed by little guards because you just can't cover them."
Lawson provides a lot of positives for the Nuggets. First, he makes the team younger at the position. Billups will turn 33 this year, and Carter is 34. Lawson is 21. Second, he figures to help upgrade the offensive output from the position and can run a team.
He's also a winner, having led the Tar Heels to the 2009 NCAA title. The second-team AP All-American also won the Bob Cousy Award, given to the nation's top point guard, and was named to the all-Final Four team. He left school after his junior season.
"He's got blazing speed, and that's something
that you can't teach," Nuggets vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman said. "As far as how long it's going to take (to get him in the rotation), a lot of that is up to Ty. He'll come in here and he's going to have to earn it, just like any other player does."
Lawson averaged 16.6 points and 6.6 assists last season. Aside from his size (5-feet-11, 195 pounds), the biggest knock on Lawson is a shaky jump shot. But he improved that by leaps and bounds from his sophomore to junior seasons, improving his 3-point shooting from 36.1 percent to 47.2 percent (51-for-108).
There isn't any doubt in his mind he'll come in and play well.
"I feel like I'm better than most of the point guards in that draft," Lawson said. "You know the way the NBA is, they are all about height measurements and arm measurements. Right now, I'm ready to prove people wrong, and show all the (general managers) that passed up on me what they just lost."
http://www.denverpost.com/sports/ci_12693143
:lobt2: :lol
Great job by the Nuggets FO and best of all, it means Carter is GONE or only coming back on another 1 yr cheap deal :hat:lmao