The Value of Ray Felton

by Chris Alvino on January 13th, 2009 at 6:01 pm

In case some people have not read about this, there is a proposed deal involving OKC, Dallas, and Charlotte that has become “dormant.”

Here is a quick breakdown of the proposed deal:

Charlotte gets: DeSagana Diop, Earl Watson

OKC gets: Jerry Stackhouse, 2nd round pick

Dallas gets: Sean May, Nazr Mohammed, Ray Felton

My pointing making this post is that when I look at the list of players involved in the deal, only one name stands out as being above the others. Being a fan of team that desperately needs another point guard / shooting guard, I am sort of surprised by the lack of talent that Ray Felton will require to snatch (* Before I continue, I am not trying to hype Felton as being in the same company as his draft mates, Chris Paul and Deron Williams. I am simply trying to show that he is a legit starting point guard in this league). To me, it seems like every other player, other than maybe Earl Watson, is a trade filler, a player that can easily be replaced by another player with a similar contract. Charlotte tried to sign Diop over the summer to the same MLE deal that he signed with Dallas, but let’s face it, he is nothing special. Mohammed and May are fillers. Perhaps the Thunder want Stackhouse as a veteran presence, but if not, then I do not see his value.

The Knicks have players such as Malik Rose (who has an expiring deal) and Jerome James, who has a MLE deal that expires next year. James is not as good as Mohammed or Diop, but it is not as if the latter two are the next coming of David Robinson and Patrick Ewing.

If this is the type of market that is developing, the Knicks might have some interesting options around the deadline. Perhaps the Knicks can substitute in for the Mavs.

Lastly, this is a question for all of the fans out there. If OKC is looking to deal off Nick Collison, who has two years remaining after this one at the MLE dollars, would anyone be willing to take him on? He is a double-double type of forward who has shot the ball well from the field thus far in his career. He is productive, almost in the mold of David Lee (but not as good and agile as Lee). That is not a great comparison, but its plausible.

About Chris Alvino

Chris Alvino grew up in Crestwood, NY. He graduated from Regis High School in 2005. There he played both basketball and baseball. Chris is currently a student at Boston College, where he practices with the varsity Women's Basketball Team (... seriously). Chris has been a Knicks' fan for years and can literally talk about them all day long, every day of the week. Chris enjoys writing on this blog and seeing what everyone out there has to say about it. View all posts by Chris Alvino →
  • BiggieSmalls

    OKC has five first round draft pics in the next two years.. Would be nice to grab a few of them..

    Collison on a per minute basis is the same statistical player that Lee is.. He has a 6.5 million dollar contract. There is your comparison of equal value. I would say that if Collison was getting 40 minutes a game in D’Antoni’s system he would be putting up comparable stats. With OKC he is putting up 7/6 in under 25 minutes a game.

  • Chris Alvino

    Last year, they were spitting images (statistically at least) as each other. This year, Lee has jumped a bit.

    I have used Collison as a base comparison to Lee before. Maybe Lee only gets 7-8 per year based on that.

  • Jon

    I would take felton since we do not have much else to boast in our backcourt but would his lack of outside shooting ability be a concern for donnie in the dantoni styled offense?

  • Chris Alvino

    Yeah, he is not a great shooter. That might drive, D, Donnie, and all of us nuts. But he is lightning in the open court.

  • DanL

    Collison isn’t as good as Lee on a per 40 minute basis but at the midlevel compared to the ten million Lee will ask for, he’s a better value than Lee. Plus, given minutes, he’ll block a shot per game.

  • Chris Alvino

    Dan- You’re on point there.

    But I have a feeling that the MLE might be able to nab some veterans that it would not have been able to nab in the past. If this economic downturn persists, certain veterans and fringe stars might not be able to get the deal they are seeking.

    Before that happens, I am unsure if I want Donnie to add MLE money to the 2010 payroll. If Rasheed Wallace can be had for the MLE, I’d rather have him.

  • BiggieSmalls

    Last year they were statistically even..
    Collison was 13.8 / 13.1 vs Lee at 14.9 / 12.3

    This year Lee has advanced on a per 40 basis
    Collison is 12 / 10 vs Lee at 17 / 13

    Lee and Collison has a similar Usage rate in 2007-2008 and this year the rates have diverged significantly. Usage Rate is the number of possessions a player uses per 40 minute. This year Lee is at 16.4 while Collison is 12.1 Last year was 14.6 vs 15 for Lee/Collison respectively.

    Its clear from these stats that the D’Antoni system has a marked effect on the numbers Lee is putting up and will directly affect Lee’s Restricted Free agency haul

  • DanL

    @ Biggie: “Its clear from these stats that the D’Antoni system has a marked effect on the numbers Lee is putting up and will directly affect Lee’s Restricted Free agency haul”

    Or the Knicks haul in a trade.

    @ Chris: I agree that the Knicks will get great value for the midlevel when and if they decide to use it. Certainly I agree that they can get someone better than Collison.

  • Jon

    hey chris with talk of gallo possibly running the show with the 2nd/3rd unit … how has he been doing in practice since that first day from the weekend?

  • Chris Alvino

    Truthfully, I have not read much. If I come across anything on him, I will let you know.

    Last I heard, he still is not 100%, but he is feeling much better than he did when he tried to make his first comeback.

  • http://theKnicksBlog.com Tommy Dee

    Good timing Chris-

    Felton put some work in last night.

    TD

  • jcmoney

    I like Collison as a Lee replacement. He is very similar except I think Collison has more of a post presence on offence. His stats in the system with minutes would replicate Lees.

    It would be nice to flip Lee and get back Collison and Felton in a threeway, a pick even would make it perfect.