Investigating the Rumor Mill: Raymond Felton

Part 2 of 3

J.R. Smith may be on most fans wish list, but Raymond Felton is making the most waves in print and online as teams look to solidify their point guard position.

Recent articles have Felton being linked to championship contending teams like Dallas, Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat – as well as the Portland Trailblazers.

• DALLAS – The Mavericks are showing that they still have it as they hone in on to their first NBA Championship. Now the question is where to go from here? How much longer can they go with Jason Kidd, who just turned 38, at point guard? Of course they do have the young point guard Roddy Beaubois waiting on the bench. One ESPN writer suggested a Brendan Haywood for Felton trade, of course, that means the Nuggets would have to take on Haywood’s enormous salary – which is not going to happen. Felton sounded like a good fit for the Mavericks before their recent success, but with the way Jason Terry and JJ Barea are playing it seems very doubtful.
• LA LAKERS – The Lakers were exposed in the playoffs (as well as in the regular season). They didn’t have anybody that could guard quick point guards like Chris Paul, Ty Lawson and Barea, who just ripped apart the Lakers perimeter defense. So adding a guard like Felton is a must for Los Angeles. Felton is an underrated defender, playmaker and shooter and has been on the Lakers wish list for a while.
  A Lamar Odom and Steve Blake trade for Felton and Al Harrington as was suggested by Mike Bresnahan from the Los Angeles Times makes sense for both teams – on paper that is.
  Odom would be a great replacement for Kenyon Martin and Blake would be a great backup point guard. On the Lakers side, Harrington would be a downgrade from Odom but Felton would be a valuable addition to the backcourt. The only issue is that Odom likes being in Los Angeles and in the limelight and probably wouldn’t enjoy playing in the Mile High City.
• MIAMI – The Heat have a need for a point guard, but not as bad as the Lakers. Felton would be a good upgrade over Mario Chalmers and Mike Bibby, but at what price. Mike Miller and Udonis Haslem was suggested, but considering that Haslem is a captain and an important role player for Miami it is doubtful that Pat Riley would make that deal. But a deal built around Miller and Felton isn’t out of the question.
• PORTLAND – The Trailblazers need to get younger at point guard and one fan on Bleacher Report suggested that the two squads work on a trade that would send Felton and Kosta Koufos to Portland for Andre Miller and Rudy Fernandez. Not a bad idea, Fernandez would fill J.R. Smith’s role and George Karl could go with the two point guards in the lineup thanks in part to Miller’s size. Definitely works for both teams, but not likely since the two teams are in the same division.
• DETROIT- While there has been no talks about the Pistons picking up Felton, but a sign-and-trade with Felton for Rodney Stuckey makes great sense for both teams. For the previously three years (since they traded Chauncey Billups to the Nuggets) Detroit has gone with Stuckey at point guard. Stuckey has done well, but it is obvious that the Pistons need more of a distributor at point guard. Felton fits into Detroit’s hard working mentality and give the Pistons leadership.
  On the Nuggets size, Stuckey can fill a void left by both Smith and Felton. He can score, defend and get his teammates involved. Stuckey’s size would be a valuable asset next to Lawson, as well as his killer instinct on offense would be dangerous coming off the bench.