Last season the Denver Nuggets took a liking to University of North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson. However, after seeing his draft stock drop, Lawson opted to return to school.
A year later, the Nuggets were finally able to get their man. And make no mistake about it, the Nuggets were on a quest to land Lawson by any means necessary in Thursday's NBA Draft.
"We had five conversations going on about Ty simultaneously," admitted Denver Nuggets vice president of basketball operations Mark Warkentien. "He was targeted, there is no question about that. He had a bulls-eye on his back at 4:00pm (Thursday) afternoon."
The Nuggets tried to trade up to get Lawson earlier than #18 with Minnesota in fear that he might not be around later in the draft and almost struck a deal with another team. In the end, though, that team found a player they wanted to select and opted not to trade the pick.
"We were in play several picks before on Ty," Warkentien explained. "That team was interested in doing something -- I won't identify the team -- but they were interested in doing something. They didn't think they needed a point guard."
When Lawson slipped, Denver seized an opportunity to get something done with the Minnesota Timberwolves by trading the conditional first round pick the Nuggets acquired from the Charlotte Bobcats last season in exchange for the draft rights to Lawson. When the Wolves were on the clock, though, the Nuggets weren't sure they were going to be able to get a deal done.
"When they went on the clock, they weren't to yes yet when the five minutes started," said Warkentien. "It was not an instant yes."
All that matters from Denver's perspective is that they were able to get Minnesota to say yes literally just minutes before Minnesota had to submit its pick to the league, and the Nuggets couldn't be happier with the team's newest player.
"We have a formula here to track point guard efficiency, and he had one of the highest ratings in history, not just this year," explained Nuggets director of scouting Mike Bratz. "He had by far the highest ratings of guards this season. He's a very, very efficient player."
"He's a combination of Tony Parker's speed with Deron Williams' body," said Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl.
Karl went on to say that he believes that Lawson, a fellow North Carolina Tar Heel alum, might end up being the best point guard in the 2009 NBA Draft.
"I think you could be arguing the top guys that went -- (Ricky) Rubio, (Jonny) Flynn -- I bet you there are a lot of guys betting that Lawson might be the best of all of them. (North Carolina head coach) Roy Williams gave me a great recommendation on him. He compared him to (Kirk) Hinrich and (Raymond) Felton. He felt that Ty could be as good or better than both of them."
For his part, Lawson is ready to prove his detractors wrong and reward the Nuggets for trading up to get him.
"I feel like I'm probably better than most of the point guards in that draft, but the way the NBA is they're all about height measurements and arm measurements," Lawson said late Thursday night via telephone. "Right now I'm ready to prove people wrong and show all the GM's that passed up on me what they lost.
"I think I should have gone in the top-ten. The way my stats were in college -- the way I played, didn't turn the ball over -- I think I was the perfect example of a point guard that people are looking for in the NBA. I think I should have been a lottery pick."
The natural question Nugget fans are left asking is what the acquisition of Lawson means for Anthony Carter's future in Denver. As expected, Karl is already lobbying for Carter's return.
"I love what A.C. has been for us," said Karl. "I think A.C. and I have kind of a special connection that I would love to continue. My hope is that we can get A.C. back and that Ty is a guy that will work hard and prove that he has got to play some time. He's a great talent."
While everyone in the organization was clear that Lawson will get a chance to earn some minutes next season, no matter who the backup point guard ends up being the plan is to try and limit the minutes of Chauncey Billups during the regular season.
"I think it's wise to keep him under 35 (minutes) and maybe even closer to 30," Karl explained. "I think we might have wore him out a little bit in the playoffs."
Whether or not Lawson will be a major contributor next season or not remains to be seen. However, it was hard to ignore just how giddy members of the Nuggets organization were after acquiring Lawson on Thursday.
As for what fans can expect to see him bring to the table... well, Warkentien made that point in a way only he can when asked about Lawson's speed from baseline to baseline.
"He just ran through the room," Warkentien quipped. "Didn't you see him? There he goes again."
"Obviously he's got just blazing speed, and that's just something you can't teach," added Denver Nuggets vice president of player personnel Rex Chapman. "He shoots a real straight ball. When he's open, he's got terrific rotation and terrific form. I expect it to go in."
Although Denver had to part with the conditional pick they got from Charlotte a year ago to land Lawson, in the end the Nuggets decided it was worth parting with the pick that they viewed as one of their most tradable assets.
"We decided to pay the fare," said Warkentien. "I think our benchmark was, if this makes our roster better, we're going to spend that. Some point guards we weren't going to spend it on. If we get there we said we'd spend it on Lawson."
When the Nuggets had the chance to do that on Thursday night, the front office cashed in. And in doing so, the organization is hopeful they have found Denver's point guard of the future.
Lawson will be introduced in a press conference on Friday at 1:30 pm. Mark sure to checkout HOOPSWORLD for all of the details as well as video of the event.
Denver Trades Second Round Selection
In other Nuggets' news, the team traded the draft rights to Serigo Llull to the Houston Rockets in exchange for cash considerations. The Nuggets selected the 6-foot-3 Llull (pronounced "Yule") with the 34th overall selection in Thursday's Draft.
