Ty Lawson has not been the different maker the Houston Rockets were hoping to be getting when they acquired him at the start of the season. The point guard has seen some highlights this year, but like the rest of the team, he has had his struggles while losing the starting job to Patrick Beverley and Jason Terry. While Lawson might be getting limited time on the court right now, the Rockets are not ready to move on from him just yet.
Houston is looking for roster help, but it is not going to come at the expense of Lawson, right now. According to the Houston Chronicle, the Rockets are not looking to include Lawson in any trade deals as they deem him an important part of the offensive plan. Lawson noted that he was told the same thing from the team and while he knows the stance can change, right now he expects to remain with the Rockets.
"They're pretty honest here and they would come up to me and tell me that," Lawson said, via RealGM.com. "When that story came out, they came up to me and told me like there is no truth to it. I'm just playing here every day, go day by day, working hard and if things happen, things happen."
With Lawson not available, the best asset the Rockets have to get a deal done is Terrence Jones. According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Rockets are interested in a deal for Markieff Morris of the Phoenix Suns and could be willing to give Jones up in the move. However, a simply player swap is not possible. Jones is earning under $2.5 million this season while Morris is getting paid $8 million this year as part of the contract that has three years and $24 million left on it. As a result, the Rockets would have to toss someone else in in order to make the deal workable.
Houston may or may not be willing to meet the demands of the league to make the trade fair. According to ArizonaSports.com, the Rockets could try and package Jones with Lawson. They could also toss in Patrick Beverley, Corey Brewer or KJ McDaniels along with Donatas Motiejunas. Are the Rockets that interested in Morris that they would be willing to give up good talent in return? Phoenix would really have no interest in Lawson considering they have Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight under contract.
Desperation might be the key factor in this trade. Morris has fallen out of favor with the Suns since demanding a trade in the offseason. The Rockets need some help as the team hit a low point losing to the Brooklyn Nets. Those two factors would be what drives this deal to get done.