Sports Radio Interviews

Ty Lawson: I’m Going To Be Like A Kid In School

GAMER!  GAMER!  Doesn’t Ty Lawson just scream that?  He’s one of those all out, do whatever-it-takes type of guys.  The fact that he’ll likely be able to hone that drive behind an educated basketball man like Chauncey Billups for a few years is definitely a positive for Lawson.  It may have been masked by the fact he he went 18th in the draft last week – a lot lower than he expected – but it will likely be a blessing in disguise.  His attitude towards being a backup (as you’ll read below) is extremely, extremely refreshing.  Sure, he won’t get starter minutes for a while initially, but it’s not a negative in my opinion.  The PG spot is so difficult, there’s nothing wrong with having a master in front of the young student.  Lawson joined The John Thompson Show to discuss his disgust on draft night, how he’ll get GM’s back this upcoming season, his thoughts on backing up Billups, and if he made the right choice going back to school.

His thoughts on the draft:

“Afterwards, surprised at where I was going.  I didn’t know that Minnesota was going to pick me and then once they picked me, I thought they had three point guards so I thought I must be getting traded.  I was traded to the Denver Nuggets which was surprising because I didn’t work out for them.  But, I’m pretty happy at how the draft went.”

On backing up Chauncey Billups:

“I talked to him on draft night and he had a lot of inspiring things to say.   When I go in there, I’m just going to play behind him and learn everything I can because he’s been everywhere I want to be. He’s been an All-Star, he’s been to the Finals, won championships, so I’m going to be like a kid in school.”

Did it bother getting passed up for other point guards:

“A lot.  The GM’s chose them for a choice so I have a lot of work to do… I just take it to heart.  When the season comes around, every time I play against them, I’m going right at them to show the GM’s what they missed out on.”

On deciding to stay one more year:

“It means a lot.  The decision to go back to college, you seem like a smart guy for doing that because we won a championship and I got a lot better.  Not too many people get a championship in college so I feel like I’m one select few to do that, so now I got a little bit of bragging rights.”

What he brings:

“I bring a lot of leadership.  I think I’m able to get everybody involved.  Also, I’m an underrated scorer.  I can get in the lane and score, and I can shoot the 3.  I can do a lot of things so I think I’m going to be very valuable to the Denver Nuggets.”

Listen to Ty Lawson on The John Thompson Show on ESPN Radio 980 in DC

Tags: Basketball, Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, NBA, NBA Draft, North Carolina Tar Heels, Ty Lawson