Raymond Felton continues to promise he is not a distraction to the team. The New York Knicks point guard's season just continues to go from bad to worse. He followed up his recent gun arrest with incredibly low numbers. While no one outside of Carmelo Anthony is doing much on the court for the team, Felton's stats fall into the spotlight after his off-the-court issues. So when the season is over and the team is rebuilding, does Felton stay or go?
In the past four games, Felton has shot just 7-for-32. Those numbers do not pair well with his arrest on two counts of criminal gun possession that occurred two weeks ago. The point guard continues to deal with the legal situation after appearing in court for the first time since the arrest. While he continues to stress that his problems are not a distraction to the team, head coach Mike Woodson believes otherwise.
"It's a distraction, there's no doubt about that," Woodson said, according to the New York Daily News. "I'm gonna need him to play, that's it. I know he's carrying a lot on his shoulders, but we have his back and we support him."
Felton has put up a total of 22 points and 17 assists with the team. The Knicks numbers are bad, but those stats are down right terrible. Felton blames his poor play on just not shooting well in general, not necessarily his personal life.
"The ball just ain't going in the basket for me," Felton said. "It's very frustrating. My personal life is my personal life. At the same time, obviously if you're dealing with something, it's on your mind. But I try not to let that come into my job. This is my job. I gotta perform and I gotta do my job."
The Knicks will be rebuilding this offseason. The team is aware that the current roster is not working out and James Dolan is prepared to do some re-arranging. The New York Post has already reported that Amar'e Stoudemire is a candidate to be traded. Tyson Chandler is looking to leave and Anthony could be gone in free agency. While some or none of that may come true, one things is clear, Felton will not be back.
The Daily News suggests that while Felton is not a free agent until 2016, the Knicks may be willing to just release him and get rid of the distraction no matter the cost. After the arrest, Felton is not tradable so New York would simply have to eat dead money to get rid of him.
