15 players the Rockets landed past their prime

3. Ty Lawson

One year into James Harden's Houston Rockets career, the Rockets surrounded him with a co-star, as the franchise added future Hall of Famer Dwight Howard. Two years into the pairing, the Rockets ran up against the Golden State Warriors and realized they needed a point guard.

Ty Lawson was supposed to be that. But instead, he's on this list. 

The difference between Lawson and the other players on this list is that he was actually in his prime when he arrived to the Space City. At least he was supposed to be.

Lawson was just 28-years-old when he traded his Nuggets jersey for a Rockets jersey and was fresh off of averaging 15.2 points and a career-best 9.6 assists, Lawson was supposed to help the Rockets form a Big Three.

Lawson averaged just 5.8 points and 3.4 assists and didn't last more than 11 consecutive starts before being yanked from the starting lineup. The Rockets ultimately waived Lawson despite being in a playoff push and took a major L on the trade altogether.

Sometimes you just have to cut your losses but this one hurt. Imagine if the Rockets had gotten the Nuggets version of Lawson.