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Grade the Signing: Raymond Felton Replaces Pablo Prigioni

The Clippers lured Raymond Felton with a one-year, minimum-salaried contract.

By Lucas Hann
J Pat Carter/Getty Images

Raymond Felton signing for a one-year minimum deal was somewhat of a surprise after a successful season with Dallas last year.  We spoke with Mavs Moneyball's Tim Cato about Felton's contributions to the Mavericks.

In a part-time starting role (31 starts in 80 appearances), Felton played 27.4 minutes a game, averaging 9.5 points, 3.6 assists, and 3.4 rebounds.  He shot 40.6% from the field and 28.2% from deep.

Felton's contract is a one-year deal for the veteran's minimum of $1,551,659.  The Clippers only have a cap hit of $980,431, with the remaining portion being paid by the league.

Let's see the grades:

Lucas Hann: A. Does this signing mean more 3-guard lineup, which could cause problems?  Maybe.  But last year, the Clippers' injury insurance in the backcourt was sufficient, but nothing special, with Pablo Prigioni and C.J. Wilcox.  Raymond Felton was just one of the more productive players on a playoff team, and he's over-qualified for a role as a 5th guard.  It's just a tremendous way to add talent for cheap.

Steve Perrin: A+. The Clippers clearly benefit from being one of the few teams in win now mode with some playing time to offer. It was a ridiculous "only in the East" situation, but recall that Felton was getting serious All Star team consideration just 4 seasons ago in New York. His per 36 numbers last season in Dallas (12.5 points and 4.7 assists) weren't that much worse than that "career" year with the Knicks (14.8 and 5.8). Plus, the Clippers can run out a backcourt of Felton and Jamal Crawford when they're in Portland to troll Blazers fans with memories of the disastrous 2011-12 season.

Jonathan Hu: A. Excellent signing, assuming the team keeps him in shape. He's capable of spot starts at PG and arguably would get the spot start over Austin because he'd be the better distributor compared to Rivers (and Crawford).

Robert Flom: A. Ray Felton is a 10 year NBA veteran who has been a rotation player or better in all but one of them. He might play far too much in 3 guard lineups for Clippers' fans liking, but he is a good player, and acquiring him at the minimum to back up Chris Paul and Austin Rivers was a fantastic get.

Adithya: B. As good of a backup point guard as the Clippers could reasonably get at the minimum. Fans will grow to love him, but his presence doesn't really complement the Rivers/Crawford backcourt that well. He hasn't traditionally been a pure pass-first point and his outside shot is highly questionable at best.

Taylor Smith: A. Like with Marreese Speights, I just figured Felton - coming off a solid rejuvenation season - would get a bigger deal. His shooting last season wasn't ideal (28% from three), but Ray is a serviceable playmaking backup point guard. He's big enough to where he can also slide over and play the off guard, which adds even more versatility to the Clipper bench. His role won't be huge, but he's pretty clearly an upgrade over Pablo Prigioni.

Thomas Wood: A. I won't say that Austin Rivers isn't better than Ray Felton, but is Austin Rivers $33 million better? Doc's magic with the minimum deals continues.

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