Ty Lawson And Alcohol In The NBA

Earlier this summer, the Houston Rockets made a highly notable move in trading for former Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson. The move appeared to be a brilliant one on the surface for a title contender in the Rockets. They got to add a key piece to a contending calibre roster.

In doing so, they had to sacrifice some handy role players who popped up at big moments for them last season, including Argentinian veteran Pablo Prigioni and Kostas Papanikolaou. A protected first-round pick in 2016 was also in there somewhere as well.

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Lawson is only 27 years old however, and in theory is entering the prime of his career. Arguably the fastest player in the entire league, certainly in the top 10 in that category, he is a whirling dervish offensively.

Although a small player (He’s listed as 5’11”) who can be bullied on the defensive end from time to time, he’s a pit bull who can still stand his ground with many guards in this league. All of this should come with a word of caution however, as Lawson has been charged twice in the one calendar year so far with driving under the influence of alcohol.

So before worrying about why Lawson may actually be the undoing of a potential championship winning team, let’s look at the wider issue of alcohol in the NBA for a minute here. When I was younger, I was naive enough to think that all athletes didn’t drink alcohol. How could they, they were professional players paid huge sums to perform to the best of their abilities all of the time.

Eventually I came to see how foolish that was, and in fact it’s not just alcohol that players indulge in either.

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Marijuana is another recreational drug that athletes take from time to time as well. While legal in some states in the U.S. now, there is still a stigma attached if a professional athlete is found to have taken some.

Indeed, MMA color commentator and generally opinionated individual Joe Rogan has now come out and said he thinks that more than half of the fighters currently contracted to the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) smoke marijuana outside of their fighting schedules.

There is no concrete proof to back this up as of right now, and certainly that seems like a high number. But for somebody of considerable stature in that sport to come out and say that is kind of shocking. Returning to basketball, alcohol and my general lack of understanding as a young teenager, I know now that players like to take part in the All-Star weekend festivities for example.

It being an exhibition game, and usually taking place in a vibrant city, I now understand why they do that. I know I’d do the same thing.

Likewise when teams are also on the road they will go out after some games. If you play for a smaller market team like the Sacramento Kings or Oklahoma City Thunder and are playing the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets, I can understand why guys would want to go out in these massive cities.

They are human after all, and like everybody they need to be able to blow off steam every once in a while.

But apart from the occasional story that makes it’s way onto mainstream news outlets, these forays into the nightlife scene of a particular city come and go without anybody really caring. It’s a long season and if those guys show up to play the next night, then really what is the issue here?

Lawson’s case is a little different however, as he has been caught on two occasions driving under the influence of alcohol. That’s more than just having a good time or partying for a little too long, that’s putting lives at risk.

You only need to look at the fall from grace of UFC superstar Jon Jones for also driving when intoxicated to know how badly these things can go. So then, if Lawson has done this twice in one year, why then should he be rewarded with a move to a genuine title contender? He has already put himself through a rehabilitation process, vowing to clean up his image after tainting it last season.

Everybody deserves a second chance as well, right? Lawson has made his mistakes, paid for them, gone public with his apology and desire to clean himself up and should in theory come back a rejuvenated player for the Rockets next season. The guy was a borderline All-Star two years ago, a guy you could argue was actually snubbed from being selected.

Last season he began on a tear as well (he finished the regular season third among all players in assists per game with 9.6) before dropping off when those murky details emerged, as his numbers show. In his defense, injuries didn’t help either.

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So really, from Houston’s point of view, he’s worth the risk right? You can understand why they went for it, they appear to be only a couple of moves away from going all the way, and did made the conference finals last season. Best case scenario he’s everything he was in Denver and more, taking some of the offensive burden off of do it all superstar James Harden.

On the other hand though, what if this begins to mirror the Rajon Rondo situation in Dallas? That is to say, fails to gel with teammates and generally ruins team chemistry (Rondo has no known issues with any substances).

What if Lawson fails to keep his alcohol intake under control, only this time the repercussions are much more severe? Obviously I don’t want that for Lawson and all signs point toward a man who has learnt his lesson.

Everybody reading this likely knows somebody they would class as an alcoholic, something Lawson is not as far as we know, and so is aware just how sad it can be to witness somebody try and change their ways but be unable to.

This is a crucial time for this Rockets team. They are close to glory, but adding the unpredictable nature of Lawson may be a bad move.

On the court I’d have my concerns as well, mainly because the height of Lawson and the average at best defensive effort by Harden (although last season was clearly his best on that end) means they will likely have to rely on Dwight Howard‘s presence behind them massively. I’m not sure that’s how you win a championship.

Lawson also needs a lot of the ball to be at his most effective, something Harden also demands. So aside from what we know of Lawson off the court, there may be growing pains on it as well. So was it the right move for Houston to make? Returning to the broader scale of the NBA as a whole again it likely depends on your feelings towards alcohol and how much time players spend availing of it.

Remember, currently unsigned and former second overall pick Michael Beasley‘s marijuana usage has been well documented. So much so in fact, that there at one point existed a sub-reddit devoted entirely to people who had smoked with Beasley.

Despite all of that though, multiple teams signed him to short term deals, because they felt he had the talent to succeed in a big way (He does) if he could only realign his priorities.

That’s kind of how it is with the Rockets and Lawson right now. They know he’s an All-Star level player, and the chance to pair him with both Harden and Howard was too great to pass up. Maybe it will pay off in a big way and they’ll one day soon hoist the Larry O’Brien Trophy. Maybe it won’t work at all, and Lawson will be back in the news for all the wrong reasons.

Either way, sometimes I wish I was that young teenager again, who didn’t think for one second that alcohol and recreational drugs were ever associated with these athletes. It was a lot more straightforward then.

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