Free agent Raymond Felton has reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers, league sources told Chris Haynes of cleveland.com:
Free agent guard Raymond Felton reaches agreement with Clippers, league sources inform @clevelanddotcom.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) July 14, 2016
The deal is a one-year agreement for the veteran’s minimum, according to Brad Turner of the L.A. Times:
Felton’s signed a 1-year deal for vet. minimum of $1.5 million, per source
— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) July 14, 2016
Felton, a 32-year old guard drafted out of North Carolina #5 overall in 2005, joins a Clippers team that wouldn’t mind absorbing further backcourt help after the recent departure of veteran guard Pablo Prigioni. He joins Austin Rivers and Jamal Crawford as guards coming off the bench for starters Chris Paul and J.J. Redick.
Felton holds career averages of 12.4 points and 3.6 assists per game, while shooting 41% from the field and 33% from behind the arc in 33 minutes per contest.
Last season, Felton’s numbers dipped. Averaging 9.5 points in 27.4 minutes per game, he shot 41% from the field and an abysmal 28% from deep.
While his best years are likely behind him, Felton still provides support in the backcourt in case of injury, with Austin Rivers likely to be ahead of him in the rotation at season’s start. Felton and Rivers will compete for minutes all season long.
For Felton, the decision to move on was mutual between him and Dallas, according to Tim Cato of SB Nation. Dallas hopes to develop a younger roster from here on out, perhaps prepping for what the future looks like when a certain 7-footer wearing #41 eventually decides to hang it up for good.
Aside from the Clippers, New Orleans had also expressed interest in signing the 11-year veteran Felton, according to reports. Dallas never showed true interest in bringing him back, prioritizing bringing back Deron Williams instead.
Felton has made stops with Charlotte, New York, Denver, Portland, and Dallas throughout his career.
In a time where free agents are cashing in on the status of the NBA market, Felton’s salary will be decreasing with this contract. He’ll be earning a salary of $1.5 million this upcoming season, over $2 million less than his salary of $3.9 million last season with Dallas.
