Utah Jazz guard Dante Exum, front, of Australia, gets hit over the head by Denver Nuggets forward Kenneth Faried, right, as guard Ty Lawson watches during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game Friday, Feb. 27, 2015, in Denver. Lawson has signed up with the Houston Rockets. AP
Ty Lawson is getting his much-needed change of scenery and will now call Houston his new home.
The Rockets have struck a deal with the Denver Nuggets to acquire the speedy guard in exchange for four players and a draft pick.
Houston sent Pablo Prigioni, Kostas Papanikolaou, Nick Johnson, and Joey Dorsey, along with a lottery-protected 2016 first round for Lawson and a 2017 second rounder.
Lawson is getting a career reboot with the Rockets after having his second DUI arrest in six months. He entered rehab on Friday for alcohol abuse after being arrested in Los Angeles last week.
The 27-year-old is expected to form a potent point guard combo with Patrick Beverley, who was re-signed by the Rockets to a four-year, $25-million deal earlier in the month.
Denver, meanwhile, is now resting its hopes on rookie Emmanuel Mudiay to man the point guard spot.
The Nuggets now begin their rebuild and are looking at the assets they got as a consolation for the troubled point guard. They are also expected to trade or waive the 38-year-old Prigioni.