OKC Thunder offseason report card – Grading every Sam Presti move
Raymond Felton – One year, $2.4 million
Deal Structure:
2018-19 – $2,393,887 (Can Block trade)
One of the bright spots on OKC’s bench last season, 34-year old Raymond Felton exceeded all expectations, playing above himself and keeping the bench afloat.
Felts averaged 6.9 points, 2.5 assists, 1.9 rebounds on 41 percent shooting and 35.6 percent from three in just 16.6 minutes of action. While his stats seem futile in a vacuum, Felton was Oklahoma City’s microwave scorer they sorely needed when the starters sat.
One criticism of Felton’s play was his affinity to let the ball fly instead of looking for open shooters. Patrick Patterson and Alex Abrines both average the same number of shots as him from distance which is a huge problem.
2-Pat and Abrines averaged 38 percent or better while receiving the same number of looks as Felts. However, Felton was the only player on the second unit who could create his own offense so a counter-argument is available.
As a Thunder fan, I was split on his signing. While he was fantastic last year, Felton is 34 years-old and entering the twilight of his career.
Felton’s play surprised the majority of pundits and it remains to be seen if he can replicate in back to back seasons. He is a valuable locker room voice and a popular character with the media. A team with Westbrook needs all the PR popularity Oklahoma City can get.