Lawson a Perfect Fit Behind Billups in Denver

His name is Ty Lawson.

In a move that could pay immediate dividends next season – and, quite possibly, for years to come - the Nuggets acquired Lawson from the Minnesota Timberwolves on draft night Thursday.

Lawson, a 5-foot-11 point guard who helped North Carolina win the NCAA championship in April, was selected by Minnesota with the 18th overall pick before being dealt to the Nuggets. Denver gave the Timberwolves the future first-round pick they received from the Charlotte Bobcats in 2008.

Blessed with the necessary speed to run the fast break at altitude, and the necessary control to minimize his mistakes, Lawson appears to be a nice fit for a Nuggets team looking to develop a young point guard for 2009-10 and beyond.

``The algebra’s pretty simple,’’ said Nuggets director of basketball operations Mark Warkentien. ``You have a playoff team with three point guards in their 30s. You’re hopeful that down the line, (Lawson will be) a substantial piece. Now, that’s up to him to seize.’’

With Billups set to turn 33 on Sept. 25 and veteran Anthony Carter set to become an unrestricted free agent, Lawson has a chance to make an impact next season. If he struggles to make the transition from college to the pros, it will not be due to a lack of confidence.

``Oh yeah, I think I'll make a real big impact because Chauncey needs some time (to rest),’’ he said. ``I'll come in, take up some minutes, keep the tempo going. I like to play fast and don't turn the ball over and I like to score. I can get everybody involved, so I feel like this is the right spot for me. I'm real excited to be there.’’

If Lawson can replicate his 3.49 assist-to-turnover ratio and run the offense to coach George Karl’s satisfaction, it would allow Billups to play fewer than the 35.3 minutes he averaged during the regular season last year. Billups has advanced to the conference finals in seven straight years and showed signs of fatigue when the Nuggets lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in six games.

``It would be wise to keep him under 35 (minutes), maybe even closer to 30,’’ Karl said. ``In the playoffs, I think we might have wore him out a little bit, but everybody does that. All teams wear out their good players in the playoffs.’’

Billups became expendable in Detroit after serving as a mentor to Stuckey, the 15th overall pick of the 2007 draft. Stuckey took over as the Pistons’ starter when Billups was shipped to Denver for Allen Iverson on Nov. 3.

Billups isn’t leaving Denver anytime soon, and Lawson already is looking forward to learning from the 2004 NBA Finals MVP.

``He’s probably going to be a Hall of Fame guard and he’s an all-star guard right now, so I’ll learn tricks of the trade and veteran moves,’’ Lawson said. ``He knows how to run a team and be a leader. In practice, I’ll go hard at him. He’ll be my mentor.’’

The courtship between the Nuggets and Lawson began last summer when they brought him in for a predraft workout. Lawson, however, removed his name from the draft and returned for his junior season at North Carolina.

It turned out to be a great decision as Lawson averaged 16.6 points, 6.6 assists and 2.14 steals while collecting a championship ring.

``It helped me a lot because everybody told me what I'm not good at or what I should improve,’’ Lawson said. ``I improved my shooting, defense, being a leader. Also, I won a national championship, so I probably made the right decision.’’

Though his strength is in the open court, Lawson can also knock down shots from the perimeter. He shot 47.2 percent (51-for-108) from 3-point range last season and 53.2 percent overall.

Nuggets fans, however, will marvel at Lawson’s coast-to-coast speed.

``This guy is a one-man fast break,’’ said Nuggets Director of Scouting Mike Bratz. ``We felt his style fit perfectly with us.’’

Bratz and his scouting staff began targeting Lawson during the college season. More recently, Karl used his North Carolina connections to get more information. Tar Heels coach Roy Williams told Karl that Lawson has a chance to be as good as his former point guards Kirk Hinrich (Kansas) and Raymond Felton (UNC) – both former lottery picks who have played well in the NBA.

``I think I should have been a lottery pick. … I feel I’m probably better than other point guards in that draft,’’ Lawson said. ``But the NBA, they're all about height measurements and arm measurements. So, right now I'm ready to prove people wrong and just show all the GMs that passed up on me what they just lost.’’

After making a splash with Lawson, the Nuggets selected Spanish point guard Sergio Llull with their second-round pick before trading him to the Houston Rockets for an undisclosed amount of cash.

Aaron Lopez is a former Nuggets beat writer for the Rocky Mountain News and a regular contributor to Nuggets.com.