Denver Nuggets point guard Ty Lawson has missed the first practice session after the All-Star break, coach Brain Shaw has confirmed.
Lawson averages 17.4 points per game for the Nuggets this season and has become one of their star performers, but he didn't return after a trip to Las Vegas.
Shaw told reporters: "We had a week off or nine days between games, and you expect everybody to be here. It disrupts the planning of everything, in terms of you count on somebody in practice. But he's not here so we had to go without him."
He added: "I know that there's things that happen. Guys went all different directions after the last game, against [the LA Lakers]. I don't know what the issues are, the travel issues. I haven't talked to anybody on that subject yet.
"But you don't want wait to the last minute. I suggested to the guys that everybody try and get back in town [on Tuesday], so if there were any cancellations or postponements or delayed flights that you still had time to get in."
This is the latest disciplinary issue for Lawson, who was dropped after he missed a team breakfast last year, while he was also involved in a domestic incident in 2013.
Charlie Bennett
