Raymond Felton's a steadying presence the Thunder needs to keep

Backing up Russell Westbrook's high standard at point guard isn't easy. Four years ago, Raymond Felton would have struggled to do it.

In his first season in Dallas in 2014, Felton went from 30-plus minutes a game to 29 games and frequent DNP's (“Did Not Play”) on the scoresheet. Felton sprained his ankle in preseason, missed a couple of months, and when he returned he'd been leapfrogged in the rotation.

“I wasn't ready to accept not playing,” Felton said. “But I came back the next year, worked my behind off that summer, had a great year. Sometimes you've just got to accept it, roll with it, and just continue to work.”

While Paul George is the priority when July 1 and free agency arrives, Felton fits a key role for the Thunder, as the embodiment of second tier of free agent the team must hit on this summer.

Whether or not the Thunder brings back Felton, who played for the veteran's minimum this past season ($2.3 million), players of his ilk are crucial.

Even if Paul George leaves, the Thunder is likely to be a team operating above the $101 million salary cap, meaning there are few options to add to the team outside of the minimum contracts allowed when a team has exceeded the cap (Ex. Felton), Bird Rights (Ex. re-signing Jerami Grant), or via the mid-level exception price ranging from $5.3 million to $8.67 million (Ex. Patrick Patterson).

Most importantly, players like Felton willing to accept their roles and execute them well are keys to any successful NBA franchise.

Which brings us to Felton, alone and screaming in his Dallas home four seasons ago. The former lottery pick was frustrated he was out of the Mavericks rotation. As a competitor and a highly-touted prospect since he was in high school, he saw himself as a Westbrook or a Chris Paul. The transition was difficult.

“It was a hit to me as a player, hit to me, my ego, hit to me any possible way, but I felt like at that point I grew as a man,” Felton said. “I grew as a professional. I grew as a player, to just still be able to cheer my teammates on, hoping to win, and still showing that competitive spirit no matter if I'm on the court or not.”

Felton appeared in all 82 games last season, averaging 6.9 points and 2.5 assists per game. His shooting numbers overall weren't good, but steady (Felton shot 40.6 percent from the field, the same mark he's shot in three of the last four seasons) and impactful depending on the situation and shot type.

He was better from 3-point range – 35.2 percent, his highest mark in six seasons. He was lethal on catch-and-shoot 3-pointers (39.4 percent).

For what the Thunder invested in Felton, it received return comparable to some of the better reserve point guards in the NBA. Among qualified bench players (minimum: 58 games), Felton ranked 10th in the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.59-to-1).

Of those bench players in the Top 15 in assist-to-turnover ratio, Felton had the second-lowest net rating (point differential per 100 possessions). He's not a starting caliber point guard anymore and didn't mesh particularly well with Paul George based on the ugly negative net ratings when often paired together to start or finish quarters.

But the Thunder didn't bring Felton in to revolutionize the position, or be a Westbrook clone, but to steady the ship. On any given night, Felton could keep the Thunder's offense afloat with Westbrook off the floor, whereas in 2016-17 the team cratered when Westbrook rested.

The Thunder's offense didn't tank without Westbrook, enough to make Felton a good value. The Thunder needs the next backup to Westbrook, Felton or someone else, to have just as much stability and professionalism.

“I don't know what my future may hold,” Felton said. “I guess we'll see what happens July 1st, but I will say I would love to be back, be a Thunder, that's for sure.”