Knicks Agree to 3-year, $25 million Contract With Raymond Felton

The New York Knicks have quickly bounced back from the heartache
LeBron James’ defection to Miami caused by dipping back into the most talent-laden free agent pool in NBA history.

On the heels of finalizing a sign-and-trade deal that shipped All-Star power forward/center David Lee to the Golden State Warriors for Kelenna Azubuike, Anthony Randolph and Ronny Turiaf, Knicks President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh dispelled rumors of his impending retirement and went about the task of upgrading the engine of head coach Mike D’Antoni’s offense.

According to NYDailyNews.com, the Knicks have reached an agreement in principle with Charlotte Bobcats unrestricted free agent point guard Raymond Felton. The contract is believed to be a three-year deal worth approximately $25 million.

Felton, the fifth overall selection in the 2005 NBA Draft, averaged 12.1 points, 5.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game for the Bobcats last season and, in five seasons as Charlotte’s starting point guard, Felton has posted 13.3 points, 6.4 assists and 1.4 steals per contest.

Equally as important though is the fact that Felton has proven to be extremely durable since he entered the league, appearing in at least 78 games in each of the past five years.

In addition to being an upgrade over former Knicks point man Chris Duhon, who signed as a free agent with the Orlando Magic recently, Felton will be a nice complement to small forward Danilo Gallinari and newly signed power forward Amar’e Stoudemire.

While far from being a playmaker/scoring threat of Steve Nash’s caliber, Felton is more than capable of finding Gallinari for a fair share of open looks and Stoudemire for a bountiful of thunderous dunks while penetrating to the basket to create his own offense in D’Antoni’s high-scoring system.

But if Felton isn’t up to the challenge, Chris Paul and Tony Parker will become available in next year’s free agent market.

Click here to read more about 2010 NBA free agency on Examiner.com.

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NBA Off Season Rankings (11-20)

Hit ya up with a little eleven through twenty, yah? These are the teams that represent an admixture of positives and negatives. Some didn't have too many new negatives, but there are just so many lingering from last season. To the list!

11. Houston Rockets: So they lost Yao Ming, and there were scares that it would be permanently. These things happen. All in all, the Rockets made what they could out of a less than positive situation. They picked up Trevor Ariza and let head cases Ron Artest and Von Wafer walk. Perhaps they’re less talented now, but good news will hopefully be just around the bend. There are rumors T-Mac will be back and not in any shadowy echo of himself either. Keep in mind it’s a contract year for Tracy. I also have a feeling they’re still trying to land Marcin Gortat, and the center they’ve already brought in David Andersen could be a ringer in disguise. Besides, any off season that brings you Pops Mensah-Bonsu is a good one.

12. New Orleans Hornets: Emeka Okafor should fit in well with this team. He’s conscious enough for Chris Paul to use ably, and rather seems suited to the quiet fire CP3, Byron Scott, and David West radiate from down in the bayou. I really wish this team would break through, but look for them to struggle into the playoffs once again. Maybe Scott’s job will actually be at risk like the Sports Guy has been intimating for about a year (LINK?).

13. Charlotte Bobcats: Tyson Chandler makes this team interesting, and could draw a larger crowd if he makes good on some alley-oops with the ‘Cats host of middling young guards. This season really depends on Larry Brown’s management skills. I predict a bespectacled exodus around game 40.

Washington Wizards B-Ball Game, originally uploaded by ellievanhoutte.

14. Washington Wizards: A relatively quiet summer for the Wizards, but they got their work done early. The Wiz traded for Randy Foye and Mike Miller and lost precious little. Foye will be a nice injection of youth. This team can challenge the best teams in the East if they’re healthy, and Miller could be a missing piece if this team proves it can still contend. Let’s hope they’ve been using the quiet summer to get all the way healthy.

15. Oklahoma City Thunder: They got James Harden in the draft, and beyond that pretty much stayed pat. Etan Thomas will educate the kiddies. The real issue is Russell Westbrook angling for the team not to take Ricky Rubio with the 3rd pick. Can you imagine Rubio and Durant on the same team? The Beastie Boys would have to cut a new album just to redefine the meaning of “ill.” Think of the commercial possibilities! But I guess Westbrook is becoming the Mo Williams of the South-West. He’s the number two bullet in the gun, dammit! And you will respect and recognize him as such!

16. Indiana Pacers: It seems like the Pacers are spinning their wheels a bit. Bird says they’re waiting for a big star to come around and take this team solidly into contention. I don’t know when or why that would ever happen. This was a scrappy team last year, and it’ll continue to be so this year. Don’t expect them to make the playoffs though, even though they acquired Tyler Hansbrough, Dahntay Jones, and Earl Watson. Actually, I take that back. I’m shaking in my boots. They did get rid of Jamaal Tinsley, which they’ve been trying to do for years.

IMG_0116, originally uploaded by jrkff8.

17. Denver Nuggets: They could’ve done better, sure, but they kept some important pieces (namely Chris Andersen, but also Anthony Carter is nice too), so the off-season wasn’t exactly a bust, and Ty Lawson could be the steal of the draft. Still, losing Linas Kleiza hurts, and Dahntay Jones’ departure doesn’t help. Malik Allen and Arron Afflalo won’t make up for that production. Denver seems to be saying they were close enough last season, but can they really push the Lakers without having made any changes?

18. Minnesota Timberwolves: For all the headlines, the team didn’t make much of a splash this off season. Jonny Flynn will have his moments, and it’s kind of nice he doesn’t have to worry about Ricky Rubio, but the Wolves are still fairly thin across the board. Sessions looks to be slotted in next to Flynn in the starting lineup, which will be a nice experiment for the two young guards, but it’s not a lasting solution. The real question is did the off season allow Al Jefferson to get physically prepared for a return to action? Here’s hoping Kurt Rambis gets a few wins in what will probably be a difficult year.

19. Sacramento Kings: Tyreke Evans will be a stud. That much, I think, is clear. The Kings didn’t do much else this off season – they acquired Sean May and Sergio Rodriguez – and they desperately need to. We'll see if the Paul Westphal signing does anything.

paul westphal, originally uploaded by bballchico.

20. Milwaukee Bucks: Brandon Jennings could be a special player, but besides that Milwaukee just lost too many bodies this summer to look like anything serious this season. They picked up Roko Ukic. Okay. The re-signed Ersan Ilyasova. Um, what? Is Scott Skiles still the coach here? I give him 25 games.

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NBA Top 50: Emeka Okafor (No. 48)

IMG_0392, originally uploaded by Indianwind.

Would Oak, and similarly Gerald Wallace, be higher on this list if they didn't play for the Bobcats? Yeah, probably. Luckily, we'll get to see this season as Okafor makes his first move from out of the shadow of Chapel Hill and Coach K and George Shinn's ghost. Wait...George Shinn still owns a team? And Emeka's going to play for said team? Irony of ironies!

The Skinny, I guess: Who is Emeka Okafor? You should know (and visit sister site Great Sports Name Hall of Fame like everyday. Everyday!) that his full name is Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi Okafor, and he is ethnically Igbo Nigerian though he was born and raised in the land of bombs bursting in air and the Houston Rockets red glare. Growing up he idolized Clyde the Glide and patterned himself after fellow Nigerian Hakeem Olajuwon, but his play is more a marriage and test tube baby result (yay politics!) of Charles Oakley and Dikembe Mutumbo. You can think of him as Dimeka Oakley-afor, if it helps. And, no, that doesn't come in goggle form. He channels the gravitas side of Deke too, having borne a 3.8 GPA in college and actually graduating in the three years he attended UConn.

Emeka's Hornets Jacket, originally uploaded by Vittorio De Zen.

Okafor went to UConn, where he teamed with Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon to form the lineup with most potential to be dapper ever. He was drafted second overall by the Bobcats in '04, in a maelstrom of misconceptions that continue to dog him. There was talk at the time he should've gone first over Dwight Howard. We see now that would've been ruinous for Oak, since it's never good to be picked ahead of a guy who plays the same position as you and will go on to cast a long shadow over the position during your careers. Still, some still think of Emeka as injury prone simply because those were the questions swirling around the draft that for reals dropped him to #2. He did have the disastrous 05-06 season, as did the entire Bobcats roster. Besides that, he's been somewhat of a stalwart, and goes in to New Orleans with a consecutive games played/started record of 93.

The other unfortunate outcome of June 24, 2004 was that persistent shadow Emeka's had to, or perhaps been fortunate to play out from under. EO's not the kind of player to visibly play with a chip on his shoulder. Indeed, the next chip out of that chiseled physique will be the first. Still, it can't be fun to be the guy drafted after D-Ho and now traded for Tyson Chandler. It actually reminds me of Sam Cassell being involved in trades for more high profile guys (most notably Kidd, but also Barkley early on, and then Shawn Bradley and...um, oops) but coming out of those mid-aught years as one of the more potent PGs in the pre-Nash monopoly era. That was a kind of stupid way of saying, Emeka's due his proof of potential met. Perhaps this trade opens that door for him.

48 Hour Film Project at Babylon in Berlin, originally uploaded by joaobambu.

Why he's #48: Even though he played second fiddle to Gerald Wallace's viola performace in Charlotte, and yes I said GW might not even be the second option on a quality contender, Emeka gains value for his use as a defensive anchor. He's not the out-of-the-building shot blocker G-dub, Birdman, or Superman are, but he does keep that ball out of the basket. Not convinced? Fax me. Better yet, drop it in my box. I got a stack of papers to grade, and none of them are written by a 6'10" Igbo Nigerian with a 3.8 GPA. Sigh.

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NBA Top 50: Gerald Wallace (No. 49)

It's half an hour into day 49 on the US West Coast, even if it's still day 50 here in Hawai'i. But that's how this'll probably go, so I won't mention it again. Anyway, today is Gerald Wallace's day, so let's give it up for "Crash."

The Skinny: What's up with Gerald Wallace? The casual fan may not know much about Wallace, but the connoisseur knows plenty. Wallace started off in that talented, progressive locker room of the early-aughts Kings. Sacto loved his mixture of athletic abilities and eccentric skill set, but he couldn't get any playing time behind Chris Webber, Peja Stojakovic, and yeah, Hedo Turkoglu. He then became the proverbial gem stolen to crown the Charlotte Bobcats' thorny crown in the expansion draft. I go over all this NBA (fairly recent) history because Charlotte hasn't exactly been headlining the ABC double-headers.

Still, Ger-Ger has eked himself out a reputation. It's not a good one or a bad one, just a kind of painful one. The moniker "Crash" comes from his tendency toward reckless play. It's not that he hurts other players or turns the ball over inordinately much. No, it's that he falls down. Wallace may have peaked in 05-06 when he sported a solid PER of 21.3 and averaged 2.5 steals and 2.1 blocks (a 2 and 2 stat only David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon have also achieved), but the injuries started then. He missed 39 games in his first two seasons with the Bobcats, and suffered four concussions in as many years. He separated a shoulder in late 2006. The worst may have come recently, even after he's tuned down his attack somewhat. In January, he suffered a partially collapsed lung and a fractured rib after being taken out of the air by Andrew Bynum. Let's go to video. Please watch only if you're not faint of heart.

I feel like Wallace should be in a wheelchair somewhere, not because he's convalescent but simply for the amount of damage he's sustained. He's deserved it. Give him a cool drink, someone. Anyway, I can't take anymore. Let's move on.

Why he's #49: Like those 05-06 stats show, Wallace has got the whole package, and it's a different package from that most NBA players sport. Dude is potent on both offense and defense. In a growing Charlotte system, Gerald Wallace is the crucial component. It will be interesting to see how he pairs with Tyson Chandler this season. If only we could get a game or two on national TV. Or not. The question with Wallace is whether or not his contributions make for the win. Wallace is not a top dog, but he's being asked to lead this young team. Really, I see Wallace as somewhere in between a second and third best player on a contender, kind of like Lamar Odom but more athletic and less refined. Charlotte took a few steps forward under Larry Brown last season, but with Brown it's always a question of when and how. Really, they're a match made in...well a geriatric ward. That's enough for now. Just thinking about these guys makes me ache. Get me my rocking chair in Hawai'i and a cold drink. I'm ready to convalesce.

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