Nuggets rookie blazes to a slow start
By Chris Tomasson 
| July 17, 2009 | 10:00 AM
Ty Lawson relied on his speed at North Carolina, but will need more than that in the NBA. (Photo from Newscom)
LAS VEGAS — Former college teammate Danny Green said Ty Lawson has “one-in-a-million-type speed,’’ which actually might be selling Lawson short.
If there are 300 million people in the U.S., 300 are just as quick or quicker than Lawson. If there are 6.7 billion people in the world, 6,700 are in his quickness category.
Nuggets coach George Karl sure sounds as if Lawson’s speed is rarer than that.
“He goes up and down the court as fast as anybody in basketball,’’ Karl said.
Lawson’s speed has been on display here this week at the NBA Summer League. Let’s just say Lawson, the No. 18 pick in last month’s NBA draft after helping lead North Carolina to the NCAA title as a junior, might be able to outrace a roulette wheel.
As for other aspects of Lawson’s game, be patient. In his first two games, the Nuggets point guard has shot a polar-icecap-like 1-of-15 while averaging 7.5 points and 3.5 assists.
“They’ve got seven-footers down there,’’ said the 5-foot-11 Lawson, who is finding out his quickness sometimes doesn’t mean a lot when he enters a congested lane, where he has had more than his share of shots blocked. “I’ve got to let it go earlier or pass it off.’’
The quick guy’s start has been slow. But the Nuggets don’t seem overly concerned.
Lawson is playing with his right hand taped after he cut it in practice early this week and then sprained it when San Antonio guard George Hill banged into him in Denver’s summer opener Tuesday. And Karl said he believes Lawson, 21, is going through normal growing pains.
“All college guys coming in have to figure out how to score in a pro game,’’ Karl said. “But he does something that we don’t do. He’s a quick little guy who can go up and down the court fast.’’
With that in mind, the Nuggets had been eying Lawson for several years. When they had the No. 20 pick in the 2008 draft, many thought their selection would end up being Lawson, who worked out with them after his sophomore season with the Tar Heels.
But Lawson eventually pulled his name out of the draft because he didn’t think he would be taken in the lottery (the top 14 picks), and the Nuggets then traded their pick.
It sure didn’t help Lawson’s cause that in early June 2008, he was arrested and charged with driving after drinking. While Lawson was below the limit of 0.08 blood-alcohol content that would constitute drunken driving, he was charged because he was under 21 at the time.
“Be more cautious about what I do,’’ Lawson said of what he learned from the incident. “Everybody looks at what I do. If I was a regular person, they wouldn’t. But I’ve got to take care of myself and make sure I make better decisions.’’
Last season, though, Lawson made all the right moves. He was named Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year while averaging 16.6 points and 6.6 assists.
“Things happen for a reason,’’ Lawson said. “I went back to school and we won the national championship and I was ACC Player of the Year, and now my name is going to be honored in the rafters at North Carolina.’’
The riches kept coming for Lawson and his Tar Heels teammates after winning the crown. Teammates Tyler Hansbrough and Wayne Ellington also were first-round draft picks, and Green went in the second round.
“The (Denver) fans can expect a lot of good things out of him,’’ Green, playing in the NBA Summer League for Cleveland, said of Lawson. “He’s gotten a lot more mature over the years, and he has a good understanding of the game.’’
With another chance to grab Lawson last month, it was a bit tougher for the Nuggets, who didn’t enter draft night with a first-round pick. They were able to swing a deal in which Minnesota selected Lawson at No. 18 and then sent him to Denver for a future first-round pick.
“Any time you can add a guy like that to your team is a blessing and an asset,’’ said Karl, who, it should be noted, also attended North Carolina.
Lawson is being looked at to back up Denver starting point guard Chauncey Billups and perhaps Anthony Carter, the top reserve last season whom Denver is optimistic about bringing back as a free agent. With Billups turning 33 in September and Carter being 34, Karl said the Nuggets need some youth at that position.
In a draft overloaded with point guards, including seven selected before Lawson, Karl said he believes his guy could end up being the best of the lot in his class.
“I totally agree with him,’’ said Lawson, who signed a contract that will pay him $1.44 million next season and $1.55 million in 2010-11 before the Nuggets have team options for two years after that. “I thought I was one of the best point guards coming out anyway.
“I proved myself in high school. They said I was too short. I proved myself in college. Now, they’re saying I’m too short again. I just have to prove myself again. I’ve had to prove myself since I was little so I’m used to it. So I’m trying to prove I’m the best point guard in this class.’’
If all the point guards in the draft lined up at the baseline for a race, most observers think Lawson would get to the other end of the court first. But Lawson is finding out in the summer league that he can’t get by on speed alone, even if it is the “one-in-million’’ variety.
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