i think we did. I think Rudy and Miller needed to go. (And Koponen needed a chance too) Sure i wanted TP, but that was not going to happen.
...why? I can understand Rudy, and I would have been happy just trading for and keeping the 26th pick, but Felton's future is almost as uncertain as Miller's. One year left on his contract....if he bombs in Portland, he's gone and we just traded Miller and a first rounder for nothing.
Yeah, because it's not like the "writers" on bleacher report are fans of their teams pushing an agenda. His PER in New York, in D'Antoni's seven second or less offense which greatly inflates players individual stats, was 17.4. Andre Miller's PER playing for the slowest paced team in the league was 17.8. Playing in Denver and Charlotte Felton was in the PER = 14 range. In the playoffs, Andre Millers PER was 18.9. Felton's was 11.2. You're right. He's below average. Yeah, because we all know how many guys make the all-star game with a PER below 15 - which is what Raymond Felton has posted everywhere except for his 54 games under D'Antoni. BNM
I like your point that if we could just accept having a guard who's just a little worse, we could get him almost for free.
I think you guys are going to be very happy with Felton. He's only 26, so the team got younger. He was Wallace's teammate in Charlotte. Charlotte had another PG named DJ Augustin who took some of his PT. Denver has Ty Lawson who took some of his PT. Given full time PT in NY, he put up 17/9. Before the trade to Denver, his PER went from 13.7 -> 15.2 -> 16.6 -> 17.3. His time in Denver was just 21 games, so I don't see that as a big enough sample. Plus he was traded late season and the team was gutted with the loss of Melo and Billups. The Blazers played two old men last season (Dre and Camby). Not very athletic. The Blazers are now rebuilt on the fly while making the playoffs. That's impressive. Felton, Matthews, Batum, Wallace, and Aldridge looks pretty good to me. Oden's going to play. Camby and Roy makes you 8 deep. I don't watch college ball, but Smith might be the best guard drafted by the Blazers since Roy.
I like Felton. Do I think he was the best choice? No. However, he is an above average PG, who probably wont hurt the team. Pros over Miller Better shooter Better penetrator Better at pushing the ball Roy might like him Cons over Miller Not as good at runnig a half court offense Not as good at delivering the ball to someone in position to score Not quite as high of a basketball IQ
Okay, now you need a snarky content-less piece to restore the balance of the universe. The "Roy might like him" was good, but there's too much that makes sense here.
Disturbing Felton stat of the day: Take away his stint in fast-paced N.Y., and Felton's best PER ever ties Miller's worst PER ever.
sigh, still not feeling to hot about this this morning, hopefully the blazers know something i dont, i just still see this trade as a talent downgrade
I thought our biggest issue come playoff time is teams ability to pack it in on our lineup. With Miller/Wallace/Camby and a very streaky Mathews... we were just too easy to defend. Felton changes that. Teams were not even guarding Miller at times... and he was absolutely no threat to shoot. Felton is a MUCH better outside shooter than Miller. You can't compare FG% because miller drives a lot. You have to at least guard Felton. Otherwise their stats are very similar... though Felton younger and certain plays a quicker tempo. How that tempo will work with Nate... who knows. It is a decent upgrade I think... and especially useful come playoff time.
I see this as far more disturbing than most. First this makes no sense. Andre was the offense a handful of nights and he's a very smart durable vet that gets all his teamates involved except one! Trading all he brings for a very average shoot first PG who wasn't even wanted in Denver, further getting flogged on the draft pics to boot seems moronic! Right? There is some serious politics going on behind the scenes and it's not being done by our interim GM and scouts obviously. My opinion is this is a classic B ROY G-CALL! He's been on record saying Andre runs an offense he doesn't like and Dre's not changing because of B Roys temper tantrums. Dre knew the offense stalled the way Roy likes it and refused to succumb to it. Roy could no longer run 1 on 5's and got pissed about it. Dre knowing good hoops continued to play his game which inturn contributed greatly to LA being the player he was last year. Felton is a nice patsy PG to appease Roy in my opinion. I feel this was a pacification move for a allstar that hasn't come to grips with his new reality. One who will play half the season around ice bags and swollen knees. The sad thing is Paul Allen may be as delusional as Roy! Only my opinion, take it with a grain of salt.
As Miller is old as dirt and getting older, what are the chances that next season he'd be worse? Meanwhile, as Felton has been steadily improving, what are the chances that he'll be better?
