"With the 18th overall pick the Minnesota Timberwolves select..... Ty Lawson, guard out of the University of North Carolina. "
At first thought, I was a bit disappointed because I knew the Nugs had a really, really good shot of landing the former number 1 rated high school point guard in the nation but that all went out the door after Lawson got caught up in some trouble before last years draft. So, when the Wolves took him I thought they got really good value for the 18th pick because I think Lawson is the best overall, most NBA ready point in this draft. BUT, then ESPN announced that the Nuggets traded a future for the rights to Lawson.
Why do I like Lawson so much? Well, for one, it means Anthony "Stone Feet" Carter won't be on our team to get burned by guards half his age. But honestly, Lawson is efficient. As I looked at the numbers, I was a bit surprised that Lawson topped the list in every statistical category last year. He did play for the most potent offense but I didn’t expect him to look this good. He ranks first in a number of key categories, including overall FG% (52%), Points Per Possession [PPP](1.13), pull up jump shot FG% (47%), and %shots he was fouled on (16.1%). Though his teammates did a lot of scoring as well, Lawson functioned seamlessly as a complementary scorer. Looking past his efficiency as a shooter off the dribble, he was second in catch and shoot field goal percentage at 48%. From a purely statistical sense, no player scored more efficiently than Lawson. Not Griffin, not Harden, not Curry, not Hill, not Hansbrough, not anybody.
Again, EFFICIENT and that's all I'm looking for in a backup point gaurd. The Nuggets don't need a leader, a scorer, a game changer, an energy guy, an anything. They just need a guy who can come in and play smart, defensive oriented, efficient ball (Lawson lead the NCAA with a 3.48:1 assist to turnover ratio...). When your two games away from the finals, all you need to do it upgrade in the areas that you sucked in. Anthony Carter sucked and the Nuggets did just what they needed to do. All AC needed to do was come in, give Chauncey a break, NOT turn the ball over nor play stupid. But he couldn't do that so the Nuggets now brought in a guy who can.
Oh, and he can do things that AC simply just can't do. Exhibit A:
