Fansided

Ty Lawson bought out by Houston Rockets

By John Buhler

Nov 30, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Houston Rockets guard Ty Lawson (3) dribbles the ball during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 116-105. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2015; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; Houston Rockets guard Ty Lawson (3) dribbles the ball during the fourth quarter against the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Pistons win 116-105. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Ty Lawson era with the Houston Rockets has come to an end.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical of Yahoo! Sports, the Houston Rockets have decided to buyout point guard Ty Lawson’s final two years of this contract before the March 1 waiver deadline. By waiving Lawson on March 1, this means that the veteran point guard can sign with a new team and play in the NBA Playoffs should his new club make it their this spring.

The Lawson experiment in Houston failed miserably, as the ball-dominant point guard and All-Star shooting guard James Harden could not coexist on the floor together. Lawson played in 53 games with Houston, starting 12 of them in what was a highly inefficient sixth man role for the Rockets.

Both his offensive efficiency rating and his defensive efficiency ratings this season with the Rockets were certainly sub-par, at 98 and 113 respectively. They were career worsts for the former North Carolina Tar Heel and Denver Nugget.

Just because he wasn’t the right fit for the Rockets this season doesn’t mean that Lawson can’t help a team at the point down the stretch this season. He did lead a Denver Nuggets team to a 57-25 record in 2012-13 under then head coach George Karl.

Now that Lawson is again a free agent, don’t expect him to be unemployed for very long. Teams like the New York Knicks or even Karl’s Sacramento Kings could use Lawson in as they try to push for playoff contention, despite being on the outside looking in.

Buying out Lawson will cost the Rockets the rest of his $12+ million salary this year and all of his $13+ million in 2016-17. While Houston will have to eat the rest of Lawson’s two-year deal with the club, it was only a matter of time before they cut their losses with a talented point guard that was never going to gel with the enigmatic Harden in Space City.

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