Raymond Felton Signs One-Year Minimum Deal with Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder finally have someone to keep the bench afloat.
Last year, the Thunder signed Ronnie Price on a small deal to stabilize their bench.
Inexplicably, not long after, they waived him, eating his salary and promoting second-round pick Semaj Christon to the backup point. The Thunder’s bench went down and stayed down from that point forward.
Christon was very, very bad last year. How bad? Though his numbers are skewed due to backing up Russell Westbrook, it probably doesn’t bode well that he was the 4th-worst player in the league in RPM last year.
Semaj is a willing defender and doesn’t turn the ball over a lot, but outside of that there’s not much that he brings to the table. Coming into this season, one of the biggest concerns on every Thunder fan’s mind was how do we shore up the bench?
Well, the answer is here. And though his name might not inspire a lot of excitement, Raymond Felton is exactly the sort of steady veteran the Thunder needed.
Raymond Felton 2016–17 Stats:
6.7 points (43.0 field goal percentage, 31.9% 3-point percentage), 2.7 rebounds, 2.4 assists, .8 steals, .3 blocks
Thunder fans should remember this guy.
Fit:
Offensively, Felton is a decent pick-and-roll man, though a little athletically limited. For the bench, though, that shouldn’t matter much.
With Kanter on the bench, the Thunder bench usually plays a much different brand of basketball than the starters. Since Kanter’s the best offensive player, the action usually starts by them trying to get the ball into his hands, whether through the pick-and-roll or through a post-up play. These two possessions give you an idea of the usual Thunder bench actions, with the post-up on the right block being a much more regular occurrence.
Note the rare Kanter pass on the second (it’s like a unicorn!).
With Felton, these looks should be a little easier, mainly because teams will pay a touch more attention to Felton.
Christon is a decent entry passer, so getting into a post-up wasn’t a huge deal, but the pick-and-roll was a problem. Most teams sagged way under the pick on Christon because of his lack of explosion and scoring prowess.
Felton’s not explosive, but his pull-up is serviceable, and he uses his weight to his advantage. Though he’s listed at 201 pounds, he’s probably a bit heavier. This doesn’t help his speed, but it does help him when he can defenders on his hip and let his mass do the rest of the work.
His jumper is a little odd looking (he shoots like a man throwing concrete bags into a truck), but it’s passable if not spectacular. Weirdly, his percentages at the rim have gone up nearly every year he’s been in the league, from the low 40s to the 60s. His outside shot is a bit shaky, but both that and his midrange are respectable enough that teams don’t leave him completely open.
Felton has spent a lot of time playing on teams with good post players, whether that be Lamarcus Aldridge, Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki or Blake Griffin. He can throw a pretty good entry pass. He’s also played with some good pick-and-roll centers in Tyson Chandler and DeAndre Jordan, and his lob passing’s not bad. Kanter and Adams will get some decent looks from him.
Defensively, Felton is OK. He’s not a stopper, but he has quick hands and isn’t bad at finding angles to stop penetration. He’ll survive. The Thunder bench defense as a whole is pretty awful, but you can only deal with one problem at a time.
And hey, if Westbrook misses time, there’s always this:
Felton’s a little underrated, mainly because of the bad rap he’s gotten for his weight. While he’s definitely carrying a few extra pounds, he’s still a decent backup point guard, and for a minimum deal that’s about all you can ask.
He’s not Semaj Christon. That’s good enough for me.
Grade: B-
