OKC adds point guard
Veteran guard Raymond Felton will be joining the Thunder.
Maybe now Sam Presti can shop in peace.
The Thunder on Friday found its backup point guard, agreeing to terms with veteran Raymond Felton on a one-year deal for the minimum salary of $2.3 million.
That ended a search for a point guard to spell MVP Russell Westbrook, a touchy subject for Oklahoma City fans after a season in which the second unit struggled.
“A lot of people have mentioned that to me in the grocery store and other places,” Presti said after the season. “That’s the great thing about working in Oklahoma City. But I think that, yeah, it’s become a little bit of a story in regards to the backup point guard position.”
Westbrook averaged 34.6 minutes per game last season, leaving fewer than 14 minutes with him on the bench. But opponents did some big damage in those small windows, and Felton could help minimize it.
Felton played last season with the L.A. Clippers, averaging 6.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists, and has spent 12 seasons in the NBA, playing for six different teams. He’s a steady veteran for a Thunder team that lacked one as a
backup point guard.
The 33-year-old Felton averaged 21.3 minutes last season – largely as Chris Paul’s backup – and committed one turnover per game. He’s had an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than 2-1 in every season of his career.
In 856 career regularseason games, Felton has averaged 11.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists and two turnovers per game.
He won’t come anywhere near those numbers off the bench behind Westbrook.
But Felton is the kind of solid second option the Thunder needed last season, when it struggled to settle on a reserve. Cameron Payne missed the first 37 games with a foot injury, and rookie Semaj Christon stepped into the role.
Payne struggled in his return and ultimately was traded to Chicago, putting Christon back in the backup role. OKC signed Norris Cole, who had played in China until December, on March 1, but he played sparingly and wasn’t a regular rotation player.
Christon, a solid defender, had his moments, but he struggled offensively, shooting 34.5 percent from the floor and 19 percent from 3-point range.
In the regular season, opponents outscored Oklahoma City by 8.9 points per 100 possessions when Westbrook was off the floor.
In the Thunder’s firstround playoff loss to Houston, the Rockets outscored OKC by 58 points in the 46 minutes Westbrook rested. In the 194 minutes he was on the court, the Thunder outscored the Rockets by 15.
Felton isn’t the same scoring and setup threat he was in his prime, but he still can get into the lane, and his penetration should benefit a Thunder second unit that figures to feature shooters Alex Abrines and Doug McDermott in expanded roles.
He has a reputation as a tough, physical player and a fiery competitor.
The Thunder knows that first hand.
Felton has played against Oklahoma City in 10 playoff games averaging 13.3 points per game. Four of his nine highestscoring playoff games have come against the Thunder.
And Felton’s feistiness fired him up after a game against Westbrook in 2012.
At the time, Felton was playing for the Portland Trail Blazers. After a win against the Thunder, Felton called out Westbrook for focusing too much on individual matchups with other point guards in the league, saying “that’s his mindset, that’s how he plays.”
“He’s always in a oneon-one battle with all the point guards,” Felton told OregonLive.com. “I’m not really into that. I’m into winning. If you win, everybody gets the praises. We are not wearing ‘Felton’ on the front of our jerseys; it says Blazers. I care about the Blazers winning.”
The season before, Felton – then with the Nuggets – told Denver media that he hoped to draw the Thunder in the playoffs, because “I feel like we owe them.”
That was five years ago, and though it’s unclear if there are hard feelings, but Westbrook traditionally has been supportive of his own teammates, and the Thunder long has valued competitive fire in its players.
Felton’s commitment makes unclear the future of Christon, who is under contract for the next two years, but whose salary is not guaranteed. If waives him by July 15, Oklahoma City could do so at no cost.
The addition of Felton will give the Thunder 14 players on its roster and a projection of about $127 million in salary, accounting for unsigned first-round draft pick Terrance Ferguson.
That’s well above the $99 million salary cap and the $119 million tax line. If Oklahoma City exceeds the $119 million in payroll at the end of the season, it would pay a tax penalty.