The Houston Rockets reached a buyout settlement on Tuesday with point guard Ty Lawson pending league approval, according to a source.
NBA teams have to release players by Tuesday in order them to become eligible to sign with another team and participate on a playoff roster.
Houston acquired Lawson last summer from Denver, giving up its 2016 first-round pick and four backup players. In return, the Rockets acquired Lawson and a second-rounder from Denver. Lawson was supposed to take the ball handling duties away from shooting guard, and leading scorer James Harden, instead he was benched after just 11 games and played poorly the entire season.