[Yahoo Spears] Denver President on Lawson Trade and his Drinking

Well, good thing he is in court ordered rehab. Let's hope it sticks...

 

Alcoholism is a disease, and unfortunately..he has to tackle his addiction head first. First and foremost, he had to remove his self from an environment that may have triggered this behavior. This was why leaving Denver might have been good for Lawson. Secondly, he has to distance himself from social settings that may cause him to relapse(ie. NO strip clubs with James Harden). There are so many places throughout Houston that foster dangerous habits for cheap. Houston has a ton of Happy Hour opportunities. Thirdly, he has to take ownership of his life; he essentially has made a 13 million dollar gamble with the Rockets that he can fix his issues...by giving the team the option for the last year of his contract. Any person that is willing to risk such a large amount for help...indicates that he is ready to progress.

Lawson has a huge opportunity from this point forward. His VICE video showed his susceptibility to being weak in the face of immense luxury. He talked about how he may not have survived if he had experience the kind of wealth he currently has during his rookie season. John Lucas may be able to help him, but in the end...the direction of his career and the rest of his life hinges on the decisions he makes from this point. Hope you have success Ty here in Houston...We all want you too.

 

The people saying this was a classless act, grow up.

The only person classless in all this was Ty. He has to own up to this.

He's just making aware of how bad the situation is, and he wishes him well. Plus he's the president of the team, maybe he has every right to let people, especially fans of the team know a little more on why they got nothing in return for one of their best players.

He actually could have said a lot worse things like he was a disruption to the team and all, which some stories suggested he was.

 

I bet they signed to him that bigger deal knowing all of this.

But winning was more important. Now, that they're hot garbage, they decided to let him walk.

 

So he smelled liquor on Ty at practice and observed his hostile lifestyle but never offered to help him or sought to get him help? **** this guy, why would you crush a player in this fashion after you've already traded him?

 

What Denver is saying is irrelevant. Ty Lawson is in Houston, TX now in a better culture basketball and life wise. He still will drink but on the court he will be focused and give opposing teams hell to pay. When I look at Denver play last year Lawson looked pretty sober on the court and you can't say that for some of his teammates that played.

 

If he got hammered the night before, it's likely he was sweating out the alcohol at practice. I approve of this strategy.

 

The Denver dude's words could also serve as motivation for Ty to get his **** together. He's at the age where you will either put this behind him and come out on top, or bottom out. We didn't pay a whole lot for him and it is worth the risk with the resources we have in Houston (i.e. John Lucas and a good organization in general).

 

He was already paying millions. Only selfish person can ask for more.

 

According to Ty's agent, rehab was his choice -- not court ordered. I believe that the judge's only order was the ongoing alcohol monitoring. I feel a smidgen better about all of this if it truly was Ty's decision.

 

FWIW, part of the article not posted here did say that the Nuggets had been trying to help him for years, though it didn't specify how.

 

Well if he only got better as he drank more, then give him a bottle already!

 

Good point. I've known guys that needed that edge in order to function well. For sure it's not good for their long term health but makes you wonder how they can do it and makes you wonder if they can produce the same results while sober. I'm sure he could after he's been dry for a while but if he were to have to go to rehab during the season, his performance would probably be affected.

 

Was it here or on reddit, but lawyer was talking about stuff. Do we have a lawyer here? I am pretty sure Ty went to rehab on his own just to look better in court. Hope I'm wrong, but that's what any good lawyer would advice his client, facing multiple DUI.

 

I'm sure it was at least partially upon the advice of his attorney, his agent and everybody else in his camp. But to my knowledge, it's the first time he's gone -- though I highly doubt it's the first time he's been advised/asked to go. In my mind, that he agreed to go without it being ordered by the court is a relatively positive sign, even if others encouraged him to do so.

 

...but then you are not playing at your peak in practice if your body is trying to rid itself of contaminates. The margin between all star and bench warmer or even out of the league is very small in this league. To an extent a young player can afford to party hard and still maintain a somewhat elite level, but Ty is entering that time in his life where his body is changing and those bad habits start to take a real toll on your physical and mental performance. He can't afford to keep this up - I think Houston needs to take a zero tolerance stance with him. After reading this report, I'm a little concerned that he might not make it through the end of the season for us.

 

Steve Francis 2.0???

 

One of the reasons many people talk about alcoholism as a "disease" is because of it's progressive nature. Someone can be a "functioning alcoholic" for many years before there is any real deleterious effects or adverse repercussions.

However, keeping on this track will eventually lead to physical addiction and a true alcoholic will experience physical withdrawal (delirium tremens) when they do not have a drink. I've seen it and it is not pretty.

EDIT: that said, since Ty has been able to play 82 game seasons at a high level, he is most likely a problem drinker and ripe for counseling and cutting back to manageable amounts

 

James Harden has gotten better ever single year in the league. At what point do people stop assuming he is destructive? Do you know who else was an alcoholic? Scottie Pippen... Know who else hit the strip club all the damn time? Michael Jordan.

Just give it a rest.