Former Indiana Pacers point guard Ty Lawson. (Photo : Getty Images)
The Sacramento Kings have reportedly reached a one-year agreement with free agent point guard Ty Lawson for the veteran's minimum on Sunday, according to recent reports.
The Sacramento Bee reported that the Kings and Lawson "have agreed to a one-year contract" although there is still no official announcement.
With Lawson, the Kings will have another veteran point guard that could either start or come off the bench depending on Darren Collison's availability. Lawson and Collison could also start side-by-side with the latter sliding to the two-guard spot as he did with Rajon Rondo last season.
Lawson's signing is a definite need for new Sacramento head coach Dave Joerger as Collison is expected to serve a lengthy suspension some time next season after he was "charged with two misdemeanor counts of domestic violence stemming from a May 30 incident in Placer County", according to the report.
The former North Carolina Tar Heel NCAA champion had played in 13 games for the Indiana Pacers last season, averaging a career-low of 4.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists in a measly 18.1 of playing time per night. He joined the Pacers on March 7 after he was waived by the Houston Rockets six days earlier.
Lawson, who will turn 29 this November, was expected to revive his career with the Rockets when the Denver Nuggets traded him and a future second round pick to Houston last summer for Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson, Kostas Papanikolaou, Pablo Prigioni, a 2016 first round draft pick, and cash considerations.
However, he was never a good fit with Rockets All-Star James Harden as both players needed to control the ball to become effective. He ended up averaging only 5.8 points, 1.7 boards, and 3.4 dimes per night in 53 games before getting dealt to Indiana.
Lawson became an unrestricted free agent this summer and for the majority of the offseason, it seemed like no team will be interested in signing the former Nuggets standout and it could be the end of his career in the NBA.
Then again, the assumption proved to be wrong as the Kings badly needed depth at the point guard position with the departure of Rondo and Collison's current off-court issues.
CBS Local-Sacramento noted that Lawson also has a history of off-court troubles, particularly "driving under the influence", which has not been completely resolved.
