Rockets reach buyout with Ty Lawson

The Ty Lawson experiment in Houston is over.

The Rockets reached a buyout agreement with their scuffling point guard ahead of Tuesday's playoff-eligibility deadline, general manager Daryl Morey announced.

Lawson and the Rockets had reportedly been in buyout talks for the past week, though the 28-year-old professed his preference to remain with the club.

The Rockets took a chance on Lawson in the offseason, acquiring him in a trade with the Denver Nuggets despite his multiple DUI charges and well-documented struggles with alcoholism.

By all accounts, he's been on his best behavior away from the court since arriving in Houston, but the on-court fit has been a disaster. Struggling to jell with ball-dominant shooting guard James Harden, and relegated to the bench for the first time in a half-decade, Lawson has slumped to career lows in nearly every offensive category, including points per game (5.8), field-goal percentage (38.7), 3-point percentage (33), and PER (9.0). The Rockets have been nearly 10 points per 100 possessions worse with him on the floor.

Flopping in Houston is especially disappointing for Lawson given he agreed to make the final year of his contract (next season, worth approximately $13 million) fully non-guaranteed upon being traded. It was a concession the Rockets likely made a prerequisite for the deal, but one that seemed more like a hedge against potential off-court troubles continuing to dog him.

After playing like a fringe All-Star and finishing third in the NBA in assists per game in the previous two campaigns, it was difficult to imagine him playing so poorly that keeping him on for a full season, let alone picking up his repurposed option year, would become untenable.