Photo Credit: Bridget Samuels, Flickr.com
Originally written for Bleacher Report
The New York Knicks have been here before. They had Raymond Felton on their roster for 54 games in 2010-11 before being traded to the Denver Nuggets in the Carmelo Anthony trade. Why would they reacquire him now?
When Felton was last on the Knicks, he was amazing. He averaged 17.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, nine assists and 1.8 steals. He’s never been much of a shooter but he even shot 86.7 percent from the free-throw line.
Granted, that was before Anthony was on the team. This is a different team.
Last year for the Portland Trail Blazers, Felton’s production and playing time were down across the board. He averaged just 11.4 points, 2.5 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Now, they’ve decided to acquire him in hopes he can return to his form of two years ago.
After the recent report of Jason Kidd getting charged with DWI and the rumors that the Knicks will not match Jeremy Lin‘s offer sheet, it seems as if they are handing the ball to Felton and telling him to run with it.
Need I remind everyone that the Blazers had a lot of talent last year and the consensus was that Felton was to blame for their poor season?
Giving the offense to Felton at this point is like giving the keys to a Ferrari to a 20-year-old. Sure, he might be able to drive it really well and surprise you because he did that one time when he was 16. But the reality is, he’ll probably stall it out 50 times before burning out the clutch.
I can understand Knicks fans shaking their heads at this one. There is a lot of talent there and in limited time the point guard of the future looked to be Lin. James Dolan doesn’t seem to care about the impending luxury tax he’ll be paying so why not re-sign Lin?
In my opinion, Lin would bring the Knicks deep into the playoffs while Felton would be taking a step back. Let Felton come in off the bench but don’t install him as the starter.
The Knicks are on the clock with less than three days to make their decision on Lin. Which way will they go? Deep into the playoffs or dumpster fire?