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Allen Iverson headed to Memphis, Bobcats must reach out to Felton
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Bobcats' guard Raymond Felton (AP Images)
The possibility of Allen Iverson being reunited with his former head coach, Larry Brown, appears to be over.
Iverson, via his Twitter account, confirmed Wednesday that he will be joining the Memphis Grizzlies.
“God chose Memphis as the place that I will continue my career,” Iverson wrote.
The deal is believed to be worth $3.5 million for one season.
Memphis has had interest in Iverson throughout the summer, but many believed Iverson was putting the Grizzlies on hold while waiting for a call from either the Charlotte Bobcats or the Miami Heat.
With Iverson out of the picture, Charlotte appears to have two options at the point guard position entering the 2009 season – either resign Raymond Felton, the fifth pick in the 2005 NBA Draft, or give the reigns to second-year guard D.J. Augustin.
Augustin showed tremendous promise during his rookie campaign, averaging 11.8 points and 3.5 assists per game coming off the bench for 26.5 minutes per game.
Augustin shot 43.9 percent from three-point range, something that the Bobcats struggled with last season.
Felton, on the other hand, averaged 14.2 points and 6.7 assists per game last season, averaging 37.6 minutes per game.
Felton struggled at with his three-point percentage, 28.5 percent, but as usual, showed great athleticism with getting to the basket as well as creating offense for teammates.
The future looks bright for Augustin, but having Felton guide the young guard is ideal for the Bobcats if they wish to push towards the playoffs this season. Little-to-nothing is available in terms of free-agent point guards, and Felton is the best choice for Charlotte if their goal is to win basketball games.
Obviously the team is in a financial crisis with owner Bob Johnson attempting to sell the team, but a starting point guard is the most important need for any NBA team, and Felton has the experience and respect among the Bobcats’ locker-room to justify a new contract.
Felton is seeking a long-term deal, supposedly in range of $7 million per season. If a long-term deal is not reached, Felton may sign a one-year contract and become an un-restricted free agent for the 2010-11 season.
If for some odd reason Felton is not in a Bobcats uniform at the start of the 2009 season, Charlotte’s starting lineup will return only one starter from the beginning of the 2008-09 season – Gerald Wallace.
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