Bobcats to Sign Felton: 1 Year Deal
by David A. Arnott on Sep 22, 2009 9:22 PM EDT
35 comments
This is absolutely fantastic news all the way around. Sean Deveney of SportingNews.com* reports Raymond Felton will sign the Bobcats' one year qualifying offer of $5.5 million. While Felton probably would have preferred the security of a long term deal, he simply couldn't expect one at this time, with a shrinking salary cap and zero demand for someone of his talent level.
The Official Roommate of Rufus on Fire has long insisted that this is actually the best possible outcome for Felton, based on the idea that he was lucky to get a QO in the first place with D.J. Augustin around, and because there was something of a glut of borderline backup/starter "scoring" PGs on the market, with Nate Robinson and Ramon Sessions, let alone the drafted players like Tyreke Evans, Jeff Teague, and Brandon Jennings. Next season, depending on how the draft shakes out, with guys like John Wall out there, Robinson and Felton may feel better about signing one year deals this year and becoming the second or third option for the teams that lose out on the LeBron James, Chris Bosh, et cetera, superstars.
What does this mean for the Bobcats moving forward?
Here's hoping that Felton backs up Augustin by default going into the season. The team may believe that Felton gives them a better chance to compete now, but, again, even if the Cats play up to their absolute ceiling this year, I'm afraid we're looking at a team still a full notch below title contention. Developing Augustin, giving him the chance to play and keep improving, furthers that larger goal more than making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history does.
However, even if Felton plays the majority of PG minutes this year, we can be reasonably assured that Augustin will take over for good next season. The one year deal saves the Cats from themselves; there should no longer be any kind of institutional pressure to make Felton a long term fixture in the lineup at the expense of the younger, cheaper, probably better, Augustin.
UPDATE: Ziller weighs in at FanHouse.
(*Reminder/disclosure: SN is my employer.)
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Really?
Future title contention is more important than making the playoffs for the first time ever? Is that the 10 year or the 20 year title contention plan that you’re talking about?
Why don’t we start with reasonable goals and then see about contending for a title?
I think the one-year deal is good, not because it assures that Felton is on the way out, but because it gives the team greater flexibility. If D.J. is really the future (still an if there “trigger”) then great, if he struggles, we know we still need help at the PG position.
Yes.
Being able to have a legit team in 3-5 years is far more important to this franchise than a 38-win season that allows us to get swept by the Cavs in the first round.
Remember when the Panthers had a good offensive line? Yeah, me too.
--Darin Gantt
by MichaelProcton on Sep 23, 2009 2:47 AM EDT up reply actions
Thank you for your sharp and to the point analysis.
Your contributions are invaluable.
Remember when the Panthers had a good offensive line? Yeah, me too.
--Darin Gantt
by MichaelProcton on Sep 25, 2009 3:03 AM EDT up reply actions
Agreed
I don’t see where it’s really an either/or proposition (long-term-viability vs. playoffs-this-year) at all? Augustin will get plenty of second-year minutes; hell, Larry liked him enough to give him key minutes his rookie year, he impressed, and will get his chance to show more this time around. Signing Felton to a one year deal as a security blanket— or even adding a backup combo guard like Murray— shouldn’t impede Augustin’s development as the point of the future.
The primary impact of these moves should be that they are not quite so vulnerable to the possible continuing deterioration of Bell’s physical plant or hopes for explosive maturation of Henderson’s offense. Signing the two guards should cost these guys minutes rather than Augustin, which is not necessarily a bad thing.
At any rate, if it were indeed to come down to a choice between becoming a #4/5 seed in the east (probably their ceiling if they can’t sign big free agents and are never quite bad enough to get a top pick) a few years from now, or getting in as #8 this year, I’ll take the latter. As the bad contracts come off the books over the next couple of years it will free up some capital anyhow and as long as they keep building within Larry’s system they’ll likely get incrementally better regardless…
What good will "Larry's system" do us...
When he’s retired or coaching somebody else in a year?
Remember when the Panthers had a good offensive line? Yeah, me too.
--Darin Gantt
by MichaelProcton on Sep 25, 2009 6:12 PM EDT up reply actions
I doubt Larry's going anywhere
This is most likely his last job. His ego demands one final challenge and he’s right in that this is the best place for it. It’s the biggest challenge he could have taken on, an expansion team regressing under an incompetent regime, and if he can turn it around at all he gets all the credit. And it’s in a sentimentally-satisfying setting of his youth and a traditional mecca of the sport (not Charlotte necessarily but Carolina as a whole.) He knew it would take a few years and this time he’s as close to fully-vested in the process and outcome as he could ever be, given who he is.
And even if he does step down before the job is done (and when would that be anyway— as I indicated in my earlier post, I might consider the job close to “done” if they can just scrape into the playoffs for the first time and the future will then have to take care of it itself,) why wouldn’t they continue to improve under another coach— a competent coach, of course, not Sam— once they’ve got a roster that is no longer the worst in the league?
by bugjackblue on Sep 26, 2009 12:50 PM EDT up reply actions
"Mecca of the sport?"
North Carolina doesn’t give a damn about the NBA. You claim that Brown is some great coach, but we improved by a whopping two games under him. TWO!
Remember when the Panthers had a good offensive line? Yeah, me too.
--Darin Gantt
by MichaelProcton on Sep 26, 2009 5:01 PM EDT up reply actions
um
Was his arrival going to result in an NBA championship in a year?
He ditched the entire mess of a team, got some guys in here, and even though we lost Gerald Wallace to a major injury, had us within games of the Playoffs…
I wouldn’t exactly think the number of wins was as critical as the fact that he changed the team and for a half season, with the team learning each other, they almost made playoffs…then key injuries down the stretch hindered that.
Having the same guys for a full season…
Well…we will see…
by andrewlail76 on Sep 27, 2009 6:45 AM EDT up reply actions
Wow...
We offered him almost $8 mil a year over five years and he didn’t accept? What an idiot. I can only hope MJ and Brown’s Columbia blue glasses won’t keep them from putting the best PG for this team in position to get the minutes he deserves. That’s Augustin, no doubt about it.
Also, the key portion of the Fanhouse analysis:
Any way you slice it, Felton has been a disappointment. You don’t take point guards with the fifth pick in the draft with hopes they will someday become reliably inefficient 14-point scorers who drop seven dimes and three turnovers a night while playing spirited but seriously flawed defense. Just because Felton is reliable does not mean Felton is good. And while there are worse starting point guards in the NBA, that doesn’t excuse Felton’s failure to improve…no franchise could justify paying out a fat contract to a player who isn’t good and isn’t improving, and I doubt that will change next summer.
Remember when the Panthers had a good offensive line? Yeah, me too.
--Darin Gantt
When was he offered almost $8 mil?
All I ever headt was $7 mil per year and that was too low…for his agent
by andrewlail76 on Sep 23, 2009 11:06 PM EDT up reply actions
…it is believed that the team’s offer was in the range of the deal Marvin Williams got from the Hawks—a five-year deal worth $37.5 million, plus added money with incentives.
—from the above Sporting News article. Reading is FUNdamental.
Remember when the Panthers had a good offensive line? Yeah, me too.
--Darin Gantt
by MichaelProcton on Sep 24, 2009 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions
Completely Unbelievable
If Felton really turned down a deal in the range of what Marvin Williams got, he and his agent blew it. I supported signing Felton for up to 3 years at $4 to 5 million per year, which would have been generous under current economic conditions. But I do not understand the thinking behind dumping Okafor’s contract only to sign Felton to this ridiculous offer. It would only have pushed any future salary cap flexibility a year or two further out, and I suspect the Bobcats would have been shopping Felton next year just like they did with Okafor this year. Hope there’s more to this story because I may have lost the last shred of confidence I had in the front office.
Assuming the Bobcats did make such an offer, Felton is taking a huge risk. That’s a lot of guarranteed money to leave on the table when there was no market for him this off-season. The only way he’ll get that offer again is if either he has a huge year significantly better than anything he’s shown to date.
Unbelievable is right
Something just doesn’t add up about this story. The offer is well above what anyone expected Felton to get. No other teams had put a similar offer out there. The FO is being extremely tight w/ the money right now, plus Felton has shown nothing to make us believe he’s greedy or selfish. The story doesn’t sound believable.
Right.
The journalist, who has NBA sources, clearly just made it up, and you have the inside scoop. Got it.
Remember when the Panthers had a good offensive line? Yeah, me too.
--Darin Gantt
by MichaelProcton on Sep 25, 2009 3:04 AM EDT up reply actions
Think he's just saying
this supposed contract offer isn’t very intuitive, which I agree with. That’s just an opinion, and it could be wrong. But of course the NBA sources could be wrong, too, which they often are. At any rate, there’s quite a bit of room for speculation in a line that begins “It is believed that the team’s offer …”.
I’m sure there’s more to this than has been released. The whole story is very interesting to me. I wouldn’t put it past Felton and his agent and/or the Bobcats front office to have made a major miscalculation in these negotiations.
Fantastic news
The team didn’t overspend we get him for a year and can then send him out to pasture.
Augustin is the PG of the future and it would have been obscene to spend $7 million on a backup PG.
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
by James The Aussie on Sep 23, 2009 9:10 AM EDT reply actions
Procton, the New Orleans site for the last time is that way-->
Please take your jilted, Dook view of basketball over there with your boyfriend Chokafor. Augustin cant even stay healthy a full season but hes the future? Please, Felton is the heart of this team, hes the spark plug along with Wallace. Hes durable, plays with passion, is committed to the Bobcats, & hes a much better, tougher defender than Augustin will ever be. 14-7 is decent, you take the good with the bad. Hes been moved from the one to the two his whole time here, hes never played a full season at just PG. That position requires alot of mental toughness & I congratulate him for sticking with it & not quiting through three different coaches. Its not his fault hes the only option when the shot clock is running down to shoot. Maybe if they had a reliable go to scorer, his % wouldnt be so low.
"it's a bad day to have a bad day"
D.W.G... I think your avatar is blinding you.
Felton is far from the ‘heart of the team’ that distinction belongs to Gerald Wallace and I don’t think that’s ever been up for contention.
Drafting a PG at #5 and getting decent, but not stellar production is wholly dissapointing. He hasn’t been a bust (like Sean May) but he has been underwhelming for his draft position. It’s not his fault where he was drafted, but we drafted out of need that year, not to draft for the best player.
Augustin cant even stay healthy a full season but hes the future?
He was a rookie last season… and he played in 88% of games, but you’re ready to write him off as ‘injury prone’?
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
by James The Aussie on Sep 23, 2009 10:40 AM EDT up reply actions
You're right.
I certainly think you have more basketball knowledge than the professional writer. It doesn’t matter what position you play on the court. Your job is to contribute. Felton has always been an inefficient, turnover-prone player, no matter where he was on the court. You think he was going to quit because he changed positions? Ha. I wonder what Wallace and Diaw have thought of.
Remember when the Panthers had a good offensive line? Yeah, me too.
--Darin Gantt
by MichaelProcton on Sep 23, 2009 2:48 PM EDT up reply actions
Whoa there...
DJ’s first year and you’re going to say he can’t stay healthy for a season…maks a lot of sense…I guess you base everything on 1 year…the first year. No way the human body would need to adjust to the rigors of the NBA life…
I seem to rememeber DJ shooting the lights out from 3 point land several times, and when the shot clock was expiring, instead of a Felton drive with 7 seconds on the shot clock so a pass to the top of the 3 pt line would be made, a 4 second drive and forced shot would be the result…with a 65% chance of bricks…not rain…
don’t worry DWG…Felton will be here all year for you to stroke to.
by andrewlail76 on Sep 23, 2009 11:10 PM EDT up reply actions
Don't confuse me with a D.J. hater
but it makes no sense to criticize DWG for judging D.J. on one season and then act like he’s the Bobcats’ savior when all we have to go on is ONE SEASON. That’s called hypocrisy my friend.
I like D.J.‘s promise but we can’t make broad conclusions based on one year alone. Go stroke to that “andrewlail76.”
Didn't call DJ the savior...
But Felton isn’t either…
by andrewlail76 on Sep 24, 2009 6:53 PM EDT up reply actions
There's no need for the Felton-D.J. dichotomy
So far the only thing that D.J has been consistently better at is shooting the ball, which is important. D.J.‘s shooting % alone doesn’t make Felton expendable just yet though. If D.J. comes into his own, like I hope he does, then maybe we trade Felton mid season (only if we get a really solid PF) or let him walk and use the cap room next year. He’s not the only one who’s coming off the books.
For all the people who argue that Felton fans are biased and overly forgiving, I wonder how much time you’re spending examining D.J.’s flaws? Is D.J. going to be a better all around player than Felton? I hope so, but as it stands now, our best chance for winning is to have both Felton and D.J. playing.
We cannot trade Felton
He would have to be signed to an offer and be the part of a sign and trade. NBA rules state that a player on a QO cannot be traded, so we can’t use him as expiring contract bait.
I agree with you that our best chance next season is with Felton and DJ, but for the future we’re going to have to make a decision and by signing him to the QO it appears the choice was made. Felton never deserved $8 million a season, and I’m glad for once fiscal responsibility and a sound basketball decision aligned.
As a caveat, please note that I made a fanpost arguing on Felton’s behalf round 2 months ago, but only if a deal did not exceed $7 million per season.
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
by James The Aussie on Sep 23, 2009 11:27 AM EDT up reply actions
Felton
I am hoping that the bobcats stay faithful to Felton and he will continue to be a pretty good point guard that can lead them. I am hoping that he continues to want to play in Charlotte and will be able to come to a long term agreement and stay with charlotte.
Playoff teams don't pay pretty good players $8 million a year.
Remember when the Panthers had a good offensive line? Yeah, me too.
--Darin Gantt
by MichaelProcton on Sep 23, 2009 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions
He would be a great $3mil backup...or we take Knight at Vet league min...
by andrewlail76 on Sep 23, 2009 11:11 PM EDT up reply actions
And Knight will still run the offense better than Felton can.
Remember when the Panthers had a good offensive line? Yeah, me too.
--Darin Gantt
by MichaelProcton on Sep 24, 2009 11:42 AM EDT up reply actions
I read somwhere that he could be traded after 3 months according to the type of deal
Also, I don’t really believe that he turned down 8 million per season, that sounds more like rumor. Can you really see him turning down that much? 8 mil would be a steal for this guy
I heard on WFNZ a couple of months ago that the deal being offered was a 3 year $7.6 million per deal. If that was the deal that was turned down, then I guess he thought he deserved money somewhat closer to what Chris Paul and Deron Williams got (roughly $13 million a season) maybe around $9 or $10 million.
As for trading players on a QO… I didn’t think it was possible at all. I’ve tried to find more information, but I can’t. If we are able to trade him then by all means, I think he could be a handsome expiring contract package with Raja Bell from a team looking to enter the LeBron sweepstakes.
Cat Scratch Reader's resident optimist.
by James The Aussie on Sep 23, 2009 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions
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