Clearly a problem with the lack of oxygen in Denver..they don't call it the Mile High City for nothing!
It's a shame he'd be a bad influence on the young guys, it sounds like he's going to be waived. I'd love to bring him in to trade him at the deadline assuming he could keep his nose clean and build his trade value back up.
would people really not want him here as a backup pg though? I mean we would have to be sure he isn't so high on himself (pun?) that he wants to still be a starter. And I am not positive what his contract would look like in the scheme of things. but the dude is quick as all get out, and has great vision. would be a nasty dude in that position to be coming in off the bench.
I certainly would. I'm sure there are a few teams that would take him as a starter, and probably 20+ that would love him as a backup.
Yep...wrong guy to bring into a roster full of young, impressionable guys..character flaw..bad locker room influence..selfish..lacks maturity and professionalism..I could go on
You wouldn't bring him in unless it was with the express understanding that he's here as a backup and nothing more, and that he needs to be OK with that or he's gone.
http://sports.yahoo.com/news/vin-ba...--make-your-life-your-priority-024514038.html Vin Baker's advice for Ty Lawson: 'Make your life your priority' After alcohol use ruined his own NBA career, four-time All-Star Vin Baker would like to talk to troubled Denver Nuggets guard Ty Lawson, whose playing days are now in jeopardy after yet another DUI arrest. "I wish I could reach out to him," Baker told Yahoo Sports. "I would just give him encouragement no matter where he is at with it. It's a fight, it's real and it's not to be taken lightly. The unfortunate thing sometimes is you have to take a step back from what you've been doing your whole life to deal with something that is life-threatening. Lawson, 27, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol early Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. It was the second time in six months he had been arrested on such allegations. Lawson is slated to be in court on Friday in Denver for his first case this year. If convicted, he faces between 10 days and a year in jail. In 2008, Lawson also pleaded guilty in a North Carolina court to underage drinking and driving while playing at the University of North Carolina. He also did not show up for the first practice after the NBA All-Star break in February after vacationing in Las Vegas. Lawson has two years and nearly $26 million remaining on his contract with Denver. "My advice to Ty Lawson is to make his life his No. 1 priority," Baker told Yahoo Sports. "I don't know what this means for him as far as suspension or the discipline aspect, but it's important for him to get a hold of it first. The biggest mistake I made was trying to keep basketball as the priority. All the flags were around me. Life is bigger than the sport itself. "When you have agents, fans, friends, family pushing basketball and all the other stuff gets kind of pushed under the rug when the signs are there that there is an issue. You got to make life the priority before someone else makes it a priority. When someone else makes it a priority, the disciplines, fines, whatever, at the end of the day it means your life isn't the priority. It means that contract may be of importance." Baker was an All-Star for four straight seasons from 1995-98 while playing with the Milwaukee Bucks and the Seattle SuperSonics. The 13-year NBA veteran revealed that he was a recovering alcoholic who used to binge drink in hotel rooms and at home after playing poorly for the Boston Celtics following the 1998-99 lockout. Baker told The Boston Globe that Celtics coach Jim O'Brien once smelled alcohol on him in practice and confronted him about it. The Celtics suspended Baker indefinitely on Jan. 23, 2004, for failing to comply with his aftercare program stemming from alcohol abuse. Boston requested waivers on Baker on Feb. 14, 2004, which was a step toward saving the $36 million they owed him over the next 2½ seasons. New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers after that, but was never an All-Star-caliber player again. Baker, 43, said he eventually fought to end his alcoholism and has been sober for four years and three months now. He said he has regained his spiritually and faith, and now has a better perspective on life. "I hit rock bottom in every aspect of my life," Baker said. "I knew growing up in the church that I had an out. I hit rock bottom professionally, financially and I just literally looked in the mirror and summoned everything I had inside of me like, 'Brother, you got to change. You got to stop.' "Nobody was looking for me anymore. Everybody was expecting it to end the way it could end: DUI, locked-up, dead. And that put a fire in me that it can't end like this not for anybody else but for you. I took all the noise out, good, bad or indifferent, and said, 'You got to do better than this, man.' That was it for me. I literally looked in the mirror and I prayed." Baker said he was in the process of buying a Starbucks franchise in either Connecticut or New York and was also coaching his son's basketball team when he got a call from Milwaukee Bucks coachJason Kidd. Kidd offered the associate minister a chance to be an assistant for the Bucks' summer league team. Baker gladly accepted and hopes the opportunity can lead to something more with the Bucks. "I love it. I was coaching my son's middle school team. So this is better from a talent standpoint alone, no knock on the kids," Baker said with a laugh. "I'm anxious to get back in the game and give back from a basketball perspective and also life, being around and being supportive." Baker spoke to the summer league team, as well as Bucks players last season, about his recovery. He also has spoken to high school and youth groups near his hometown of Hartford, Conn. "This is a journey and I can kind of give them hope that if you stick to what you're trying to do professionally on and off the court, the sky is the limit," Baker said. "And that doesn't necessarily have to mean money." Lawson has been the subject of much trade speculation since the end of last season. He was third in the NBA in assists last season, averaging 9.6 per game, along with 15.2 points per game. The Nuggets were asking for a first-round pick and a young player for Lawson in trade talks just days prior to his latest arrest, one league source said. Even prior to Lawson's latest arrest there was little to no interest from teams, another source said. The Nuggets did draft point guard Emmanuel Mudiay, who has been one of the top rookies during the summer league. Denver also signed veteran point guard Jameer Nelson. Time will tell where Lawson fits in. "Good luck trading Ty now," one NBA assistant general manager said. "They might as well keep him and hope he eventually raises his value back up."
