Thousands of people die yearly due to drunk driving. When's the last homicide you've heard of being committed by a player during a game? This is just insane to say that DUI's aren't lethal but assaulting fans, however deplorable, is lethal.
Over 10,000 people died in 2013 due to alcohol-related motor vehicle collisions. DUI's are potentially deadly and repeat DUI's show a lack of conscience or judgment. Minimizing this problem, as we are wont to do, is a big part of why we can't reduce these deaths in any meaningful way.
I don't believe in leniency for DUI's. If the fear of hurting innocent people doesn't deter you from driving drunk, maybe the fear of retribution will?
People aren't calling Lawson a locker room cancer just over two DUIs in one year, serious as that is. He also clashed with the head coach last year and gave the worst defensive effort of his career. If Lawson had Battier's personality and reputation then of course the perception would be different. Conversely, if Battier had two DUIs, clashed with head coaches, had poor defensive effort on the court, and acted unprofessionally on social media (including talking about being traded to so and so), then people would call Battier a locker room cancer. There are more differences between the two than just an arrest record. The DUIs just prove that Lawson is reckless and irresponsible.
Agree. It's good to see how perception of this issue has changed over the last few decades. The attitude used to be, "he didn't mean to kill them". Now it's extremely taboo, and I think the laws have helped with that.
Also if someone had two DUI's in only 6 months, and a previous one years ago, you can be certain that these two aren't teh only two times he drinks and drives. Just the two he got caught. Also consider that someone of his height and weight how much he has to drink to reach the limit.
JuanValdez, I wasn't minimizing Artests actions or punishment. I just said it is treated differently by the CBA and criminal court. And please don't minimize the illegal actions the fans took in that fight. They were oermabanned and fined, right? They were far from innocent like a driver Lawson might hit someday
Still not good enough unfortunately when we lose 10,000 people a year not disagreeing with you but it hasn't stopped people from dying
His lawyer is dragging this out. His original goal was to wait until after the season and for ppl/fans to forget. I'm not even sure if his had an arraignment yet. Now the prosecutors will want to wait too, for more info from LA But once he makes a plea, the judge will set a court date quickly. But it likely won't go to court. A plea bargain is more likely, which could happen at any time And FWIW, no matter what hAppens, he automatically loses his license for a year due to refusing a blood test the night of his arrest
thanx for the info heypartner. I don't think the teams will forget even if the fans have the memory of a goldfish sometimes.
I don't think I'm much disagreeing with anyone. This is what I'm saying as well. Plenty of people are calling him a cancer, but the only article of evidence that seems to come up is the 2 DUIs (for which he has not been convicted btw, though I'm sure he's probably guilty). This isn't a very fleshed out or convincing argument is all when you wield the DUI as a hammer to silence consideration. We should look at the tapestry.
He also has a domestic violence issue. In any case, the concern is that he's a raging alcoholic and being busted twice is just a sign of the underlying problem, as opposed to someone who just happened to have a few measly drinks and got unlucky twice because of bad judgment.
You nailed it on the head as far as his issues. However, I would say this needs to be looked rationally and at a probability stand point. First, outwardly, this issue seems to be sourced, at least partially, because of his frustration with an incompetent management team and a sorry team. This part would be completely resolved on a winning Rockets team. Second, part of the problem is his dangerous need to drink and drive, even if it is allegedly, for no real reason other than poor judgement. This is the part that any team would be taking the risk. Is this part of the problem small enough which can be fixed by a new city and a character oriented team? I think so Given that risk, you have to weigh it against the probability of it being fixed, and then end result, how much it helps our team. Assuming the cost of acquiring is virtually zero (giving up anyone besides tjones is pretty much nothing for us at this point), the cost of this trade would be success or failure. The probability of him sobering up and adding significantly to the make up to this team, imo, FAR FAR outweighs the probability of it crashing OR us not making it to the Finals, which seems likely given the current construction of the team. We need someone at Pg who supports Harden, and Lawson is the best fit given the market. I think the probability he adds to the team is worth the risk that he flat lines. Think about it, we only have a few years of a healthy Harden - Howard duo, and every year passing is a wasted year of Harden's MVP talent. Just my opinon.
According to some news articles, Lawson actually have 4 DUIs to his record. Apparently he got one in Missouri as well.
What about his clash with Shaw and the unprofessional social media posts? His domestic violence case? This is his fourth DUI related arrest, btw. People are looking at his overall behavior and not just one issue. Even someone as talented and amazing as Demarcus Cousins has a certain perception about him and he has no criminal record at all! Look, I'm not condemning Lawson. I know a few alcoholics personally with DUIs and I don't think they're bad people, they have major problems that I wish I could help fix. The question is whether you want to rely on him. He behavior is not squeaky clean, not by a long shot. Teams should be cautious before handing him the keys to their offense.
From a pure talent perspective, I think we should absolutely trade for him if the most we're giving up is tjones. He would free up harden and two attackers would take our offense to the next level.
Denver's #1 Emmanuel Mudiay is looking like a beast in summer league...Ty is history....I Read the Lakers wants Ty too.
