When asked if the arrest affected his decision to remain in the draft or return to UNC, Lawson replied with the following: "Yeah, I think so, because Coach [Roy Williams] talked to Larry Bird and they were real high on me. I was either going to be the No. 1 or No. 2 pick [on their draft board]… They’ve had a lot of problems with things like that, like with Jamaal Tinsley and Jermaine O’Neal – there were a couple of people that he named – so he called and said that they just couldn’t take a chance."