Via Yahoo, who ranked him 23rd out of 3o…

Perhaps I underrated Felton’s defense through the years, because he did look good last season. And he remains a sound finisher toward the end of quarters (don’t underestimate that). There are about 97 other point guards, some retired, that I’d prefer running Mike D’Antoni’s show in New York, but Felton will do in a pinch. And, yes, Knick fans, you’re in a pinch. At least the pinch (and resultant squeeze) doesn’t result in Chris Duhon(notes).

I’m excited to see Felton in this system frankly. And anyone who’s truly watched him knows he’s a top half on-ball defender. Hopefully that continues. I mean to rank him behind Ramon Sessions is and ahead of another backup in Ty Lawson is, in a word (or two), pretty ridiculous. He’s far more proven.

Aside from knee-jerk negative articles focusing on the current Knicks roster, Hoopsworld’s Tommy Beer pens a solid and fair depiction of how the Knicks stack up. One note in particular is a belief that I have regarding Ray Felton who, to me, is the key to the success of the team this year.

In addition, Felton is still young – he just turned 26 – and has proven he can handle lead-guard responsibilities.  Felton’s overall numbers dipped a bit last season, the good news was that his efficiency improved; he shot a career-high 46% from the floor and career-best 38.5% from three-point territory.   Moreover, after being handcuffed under Larry Brown’s plodding approach last season, Felton’s game could flourish under the up-tempo and freewheeling “Seven Seconds or Less” offense in NY.

Efficiency numbers are encouraging, but the point that Felton was never a match in Brown’s system is accurate, to me. And he still helped lead the Bobcats to the playoffs despite struggling against the Magic. Felton’s strength is the ability to get out on everyone WITH the ball. He’s one of the fastest players with the pill in the last decade. If he can get out on his own and finish then that’s great, but he’s going to have to learn that in D’Antoni’s secondary break, the point guard has to wait for a trailing big to set a screen and roll and reverse the ball if the screener is covered.  He’ll learn this and be great at it, I believe. Of all the new players, I’m most excited to see Felton in a system that most resembles the system the excelled at while at UNC. Fast break then a controlled, but fast, secondary break leading to half court sets.

Via NY Post

“I wasn’t one of D’Antoni’s guys,” said Harrington. “It was an obvious thing. No matter how good I played, no matter what happened, he wouldn’t mention my name after a game or anything. He obviously didn’t want me there.

“When they only got one max, I thought I would hear from them and get a call,” Harrington added. “I was obviously wrong.”

We’ve talked over and over about the disconnect in the locker room. I know Al thought it was his team, and guys like Nate and D Lee thought it was “theirs.” It was a bad situation for everyone. Denver is a good situation for Harrington, who undoubtedly wanted to be a Knick. He was a Walsh guy, but if Walsh wanted to keep him he would have. They needed to make the Felton move and maintain flexibility.

That made Al expendable.

Like Larry Hughes, it’s easy to knock the coach walking out the door, but without question D’Antoni is on notice from the fans even more so, especially when you read quotes like this.

The Knicks will open up their Las Vegas Summer League today at 4:00 P.M. against the Nuggets. The game will be broadcast on NBA TV.

Personally, I’m very excited to see how much Toney Douglas has developed and if Bill Walker can elevate his game to be a major contributor. It’s easy to tell in the summer league because if you notice a real disparity here it usually means they are not only ready to be on a roster but to contribute.

Also, interesting note in the New York Times today, that new point guard Raymond Felton played for Dan D’Antoni’s AAU team. And, a great quote from Mike D’Antoni on Anthony Randolph.

There are holes on this Knick roster, but perhaps the most glaring one is the need for another point guard. Ideally, Donnie Walsh will be able to find one to take over for Chris Duhon in the starting lineup. However, that might not necessarily happen. The Knicks might have to live with Duhon running the team for another season. As a Duhon fan, I do not think that would be an awful thing, so long as he has a suitable backup to spell him for 15 minutes per game. Duhon’s biggest problem last year, in my opinion, was that he tried to do too much and he got tired. Nate Robinson was the closest thing that the team had to a backup at the point.

Much has been made (and will be made) of Jason Kidd possibly coming to NY. If Kidd decides against NY, then Ramon Sessions‘ name has come up in talks as well. I get the feeling that the Bucks will try to match any offer to Sessions, and then will look to trade away Luke Ridnour.

So what are the other free agent options? Well none of them are overly enticing, but a few can work. Remember, if we cannot hit a home run, we at least need someone that can run the point. Here are some other names:

Andre Miller- He wants too much money. He is out of our price range. Forget him.

Mike Bibby- I have talked to a few good basketball minds, and not one has said that they would even consider Bibby here. I am not saying that I would for sure, but if he was willing to take 2-3 years at $4-5 million per season, I would not rule it out, especially if Kidd and Sessions are not coming. I am not sure if Bibby is even a good fit here on the court. He is more of a scorer than a pure PG, and one person I talked to has said that he does not “like him in transition” and that Bibby is “almost a spot shooter at this point.” Bibby helped the Hawks into the second round of the playoffs this year and helped push the team into the playoffs after a mid-season acquisition last year. Would Bibby be able to start over Chris Duhon on this team? Again, I am not saying that he is a good fit or even that Walsh should get him, but he is simply another option to consider.

Jarret Jack- He torched the Knicks at the Garden in January. Jack played well well this season. I am not sure he is the answer at the PG spot because like Bibby, Jack is more of a scorer than a pure PG. But if Walsh brought Jack in here to back up Duhon, I would not be upset. However, the Pacers need help at PG and they will try to keep him for a reasonable price.

Tyron Lue- This is the fall back of all fall backs. If the market runs dry and the Knicks are left with only Chris Duhon on the roster, Lue is a guy to consider for the veteran minimum. He is a veteran that can still run in transition and can come into games and contribute immediately. Again, he is the ultimate fall back option.

Ray Felton-I think the Bobcats want to keep Felton, especially if he can only get a MLE offer. Felton is a better player than he gets credit for, but he can drivesyou nuts with his poor shooting. Being as how I think Charlotte will keep him as a part of their core, you can almost forget him.

Allen Iverson- I just threw him in here. He is not an option. Probably not even for one year.

Nate Robinson-We have already gone down this road. If he signs the qualifying offer, he stays. If not, he goes. Even if he stays, which I doubt will happen, the Knicks still need a backup to Duhon.

Stephon Marbury- Just kidding.

There will be trade options available, such as Ridnour if Sessions stays with the Bucks. If they become available, I am sure Donnie would work the lines.

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, 2^nd 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.

Off the bat we knew the Augustin pick made no sense for the Bobcats. But that doesn’t mean, apparently, that Ray Felton is going to be shipped. We speculated Lee and a player, but GM Rod Higgins shot that down today.

Charlotte Bobcats general manager Rod Higgins says drafting D.J. Augustin isn’t intended to supplant Raymond Felton as the team’s starting point guard.

Specifically, Higgins said, there’s “no truth” to a report out of New York that the Bobcats might trade Felton to the Knicks for power forward David Lee.

Augustin should get minutes right away, but I’m not buying shifting Felton to the 2 as a combo backcourt. Felton would be a great “engine” for D’Antoni. Lee is the issue, since he can tell a team that he won’t re-sign if he doesn’t like where he ends up.