Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Felton


I'm doing this post off the cuff. No structure, just a fancy "post" if you will.

What do you guys think about the Blazers making a run at Raymond Felton this off-season? He is an unrestricted free agent, and in this market I am guessing could be had for relatively cheap. Bill Simmons raised a great point on him. His career arc so far looks just like Chauncy Billups. Check out the numbers from their first 4 years:

Billups:
YR TM GGSMINFGFG%3P3P%FTFT%STLBLKTOPFOFFDEFTOTASTPTS
97-98BOS514425.43.5-8.9.3901.3-3.7.3392.9-3.5.8171.50.02.32.30.81.42.24.311.1
…TOR292631.73.6-10.2.3491.5-4.7.3162.7-3.0.9191.00.11.91.90.81.92.73.311.3
98-99DEN454133.14.2-11.0.3861.9-5.2.3623.5-3.8.9131.30.32.22.60.51.62.13.813.9
99-00DEN13523.52.6-7.8.3370.5-3.2.1712.8-3.4.8410.80.21.82.10.62.02.63.08.6















































































Felton:
YR TM GGSMINFGFG%3P3P%FTFT%STLBLKTOPFOFFDEFTOTASTPTS
05-06CHA805430.14.3-11.0.3911.2-3.4.3582.0-2.8.7251.30.12.32.31.02.43.45.611.8
06-07CHA787536.35.0-13.1.3841.3-4.0.3302.6-3.3.7971.50.12.92.30.72.83.57.014.0
07-08CHA797937.65.2-12.6.4130.7-2.5.2803.3-4.1.8001.20.22.72.30.52.53.07.414.4
08-09CHA817937.85.4-13.3.4090.7-2.5.2882.6-3.2.8051.60.42.82.30.73.13.86.814.2


They are very similar, and are built the same. As you can see Chancy was not an amazing 3-pt threat when he came into the league, but developed into one. Granted he was still better the Felton, but I am confident that if the Blazers coachs can turn Outlaw into the shooter he is, then Felton will be easy.

Check out this article from the Oregonion's Joe Freeman on the Blazer's improved 3-pt. shooting.

So would Felton be worth 8 mil a season (twice what Blake makes)? That would bump Blake to the backup, but wouldn't he just become the Przybilla of the backcourt? A guy who is good enough to start, but is a high quality backup? Don't all championship teams need a few guys like that?

Another question is what does this do for Bayless? Is he doomed to rot on the end of the bench? Does he come in and play the 2 next to Blake, move Rudy to the 3, and Travis at the 4? What about Martell? What about Batum? All interesting questions, which I would like to hear your guy's opinons on.

I personally think if you can get a guy like Raymond Felton for 8 mil a year, you do it. If Bayless is truly good enough to beat someone out, then he will do it in training camp or in practice. The NBA has a way of allowing the best players to float to the top.

Lastly, what if Felton becomes the Chancy? Wouldn't we be kicking ourselves for not locking him up for 7-8 mil a year?
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2 comments:

  1. El RoblesApril 15, 2009 at 5:39 PM

    I had Felton on my fantasy team. DJ augustin was supposed to be the future point out of the draft. They were bringing him along. Coach Larry Brown did the two starting point guard thing, and Felton just went nuts.
    But the stats above are good to see. My fear was he was playing out of his head to get the big contract. Once he gets it will he taper off?
    I still would like to see the blazers spend the $ on a solid 4 rather than another point. OK I will finally say it....Blake is our starter! There, I said it. It has taken a whole year for me to become sold on him. Our bigger weakness is the 4.

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  2. Adam GApril 15, 2009 at 5:40 PM

    Personally, i'm not huge on Felton right now, but he does have potential to become a great guard in the league and i think i would try to sign him for 8 mil this off season. As for the cluster of guys in the 2 & 3 spot, i believe that we will be trading Travis in the off season, and probably package him with some other guys like fry and sergio. If this happens then we will just have bayless and blake battling for the second string guard like bayless did with sergio all year this year. That just leaves martell, Rudy, Roy, and batum to play the 2 & 3 spots.

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