I was pissed when the blazers got you anyways. At least we will get a nice draft pick because of you…

I know, deep inside, he wants to do all he can to help and because it’s not clicking, for whatever reason, he gets critiqued for something he feels is out of his control.

I mean, it’s not like he’s a corrupt CEO or is a player who cheats on his wife hundreds of times. He just wants to help this team.

At the same time, I feel he needs to open up and be more constructive when listening to criticism. People are always going to criticize you no matter how good you get. It’s about how you react to it that makes the difference.

Which brings me to Batman:

“it’s not who you are underneath but what you do that defines you”.

To the point that he cannot see how bad he is performing.
I thought he may be traded at trade deadline, but now maybe before.

Nate gave you reigns to start the season and YOU played poorly. YOU started the season out of shape. YOU dribbled the ball off your own feet late in the fourth quarter. YOU missed big shots that could have won games.

Felton sounds like a drug addict who complains about his parents not trusting him. You freaking pawned your mother’s jewelry to buy dope! Of course they don’t trust you! You aren’t trustworthy!

To spite all the evidence to the contrary I still have believe Felton can find his niche. He can be lightning quick and he finds creative ways to get the ball to his teammates in traffic. He is good at timing an offensive player’s dribble and jabbing his arm out to pick off a steal. He won a national championship in college.

I hope when he comes back after the all-star break his body and mind will have had time to recover from the grueling lockout schedule and he will be able to utilize his now in shape body to do the things he is capable of doing. I really think that when he regains a few inches on his vertical leap he will play a lot better. A guy with his touch around the rim should benefit greatly from getting a few inches closer. His jumper should stop falling short if he is able to jump just a little bit higher. He should be able to handle the ball better when he doesn’t have all that lactic acid built up in his throat from being out of breath.

When you have family and friends you don´t need enemies.

He’s struggling and he knows it. But what do you do? Opportunity can be given, and I think Nate has given Felton plenty of opportunity. Trust? if lost, has to be earned. Felton continues to have opportunity but simply without prejudice, isn’t playing well enough to earn anymore trust.

Maybe Felton feels McMillan doesn’t trust him, but quite frankly I’m surprised Feltons minutes haven’t been cut more severely than they have.

I’m not sure how you fix this, or if you can fix it. I honestly believe Felton is a better player than we have seen but it seems the Felton experiment has simply failed. At this point? I’m not sure trust can be restored. And honestly the way Felton has played? I’m not sure trust is deserved.

Especially from pro athletes. Being a professional of any kind at any level means dealing with criticism and responding to the challenge. Felton is allowed to feel whatever he wants, but a true professional does not say a word about it to anyone that will utilize it against him. Granted, we are dealing with NBA players whose profession is to be great at a game, but that can only cut so much slack.

When McMillan gives you the leash he has, you do not dare criticize him like that. It’s not his fault you’re shooting 36% from the field and 20% from three. It’s not his fault that you’re averaging 4.5 PPG, 0.4 assists and 1.1 RPG fewer than your career averages. Own up to your terrible play, Felton!

I randomly met a guy who was Ray Felton’s cousin and big brother figure growing up. He’s a lawyer in NYC and I think the only member of Felton’s family in NY.

Anyways, we got to talking, and he said “Thing is, he’s a mommas boy” and that he didn’t want to play in Portland since the moment he got traded, or Denver either. His cousin counseled him, saying that to be a “pro”, he’s got to be able to play away from home [Felton’s from SC] – he’s proved he can win in the Carolinas, and can be a good player on the east coast – and now he has to prove if he can be an effective player a long way from home to get the next big contract that will set him (and his fam) up for life.

How can we best salvage this crapola? Bench him, play Nolan and Elliot, and welcome the lottery pick that results? Trade him for a new free throw guy? Waive him? This is worse than I had imagined possible. Terrible play, and now, locker room poison.

Not anymore.

Let’s be honest, selecting PGs (and centers) isn’t are thing. But doing the opposite could right all those wrongs. Maybe we end up with the next ivy league sensation?

Because he’s given no reason to be confident in him.

He’s seen enough floor time to work out the butterflies. I say he rides the bench until he’s traded. I also say this season is a wash now, play some young guys, see what you have, see who wants to take a bad point guard off our hands.

I know, maybe we can trade Felton’s mom for some cupcakes?

He will make sure they keep that losing record in tact.

But he needs to go. Poor play is one thing, but when he is trying to throw blame around the team, that attitude is like poison.

for that Lin kid no ones heard of? Who knows, maybe he can play. Do you think NY would do that, or would that be… wait for it… Lin-sane?

Seriously, this is pretty weak sauce of Felton. He’s been total garbage on the court, there is no other way to look at it. No stat counters this point. To then blame someone else? REALLY?!? I could totally buy into this with some of the young guys who get yanked around, maybe even Batum a few weeks ago. But Felton? Psh.

Somebody get this guy a copy of this book fast.

Your problem can be solved, Mr Felton. Ride the pine until you get your head in order.

Better yet, go home to mommy and tell her how unfair the world is to her little baby.

Let me help you out. People don’t “trust” in that which repeatedly fails them.

If a teenager steals change from your dresser once, he gets a talking to, with a reminder that what he did was wrong, but that you still love him.

If a teenager gets your PIN number and empties your bank account, sells the 2 family cars, pawns moms family heirlooms, and splints for Mexico, you call the cops, get a restraining order, ans never speak to him again.

Stop stealing our heirlooms.

he never seemed like a player who would fit here. and for portland to jettison andre miller to sign him? we all know that wasn’t the case. Rather, Portland just want to get younger at that position so signing Spencer was more about convenience than anything else.

He’s a mediocre PG that is so out of shape he’s playing well below mediocre. He needs to shut up.

Here’s an honest question for the Blazers faithful.

Who would you rather have right now, Bayless or Felton at PG?

..and the fact that I’m even asking that honestly should say enough about Felton’s time here so far.

Let me explain. Normally this sort of stuff would be handled behind closed doors. But when this year is up and he needs to get resigned somewhere, he is goin to take a big pay hit after this year. He has some history which should help him, but if the only reason he played poorly this year was his own fault what is he supposed to say to other teams? By coming out and blaming Nate it opens up a little window where he has an excuse that he can talk about with other teams in hopes that they will sign him just thinking that this year was more of nates fault than his own.

Hes got to do something to get a decent contract next year and right now his only options are 1. make it look like nates fault so that a team will give him a second chance based on his history. 2. Piss off the organization so they trade him and he has a chance to finish the year with a positive. think about the timing of this, just a few weeks before the trade deadline.

Felton Blames Poor Play On Coach’s Lack Of Trust

Coach’s Lack of Trust Blamed on Felton’s Poor Play

makes me long for Rudy Fernandez. I would KILL to have Rudy as our PG right now, and I cheered when we traded him.

Felton said. “It’s to the point where the only person I could turn to was my mom.”

This tells me that it’s not just Nate that has lost trust in Raymond. You’d expect that if the players really had a beef with McMillan, RayRay could just go to a guy hes known for a while like Wallace, or a guy who catches grief from Nate like Batum, or a guy who just got sent to the bench like Wesley, and find some sympathy.

But apparently, they’re not looking to pat him on the head and make him feel better either.

Nobody trusts you because you SUCK

and decided that it’s amazing that Ray still trusts his shot enough to keep shooting.

and has now demonstrated he makes poor decision off the floor as well by calling out his coach. What a tool.

Sorry taking a tangent here… I just remember when Nate used to call out miller. and the fact that for being an ex PG Nate hasn’t actually developed a good one his entire time being here… Im trying to think about to his time in seattle to think if he ever developed one there either.

“I know I’m struggling, but it’s hard to _______ the way you know how when you know you don’t have confidence in me,” I says to my girlfriend. “Never in my days _______, have I felt like a girlfriend wasn’t confident in my _________. It’s hard to _ knowing that.”

Felton has straight up SUCKED! How this is Nate’s fault is beyond me. Nate’s damned if he do and damned if he don’t. Fans would be apoplectic if he was giving Felton even more minutes, especially at crunch time, because time and time again, when Felton has been given those minutes, he’s done stupid stuff.

Confidence is like respect; it drives me crazy when people expect me to give them respect when they’ve done nothing to earn it. Confidence comes from making plays, not from your coach. If anything, Nate has been overly confident that Felton would turn it around.

That we are not going to make any moves by the trade deadline? We have a nice little core in Aldridge and Batum, but really nothing else that you could honestly say are must keep players. In addition, beyond maybe Wallace, not a lot of viable trade bait other than an expiring contract or two. But what do you have to take back in return for an expiring contract and will it help the team now, or just prolong more of the same? Would it actually be better to throw in the towel on the season………don’t take on any bad contracts at the deadline and let the offseason come as quick as possible? That way we have max cap space, a higher draft pick, hopefully a new GM and a fresh start on signing guys we can build around. While this approach may cost Nate his job……..maybe the powers that be are willing to go down that path.

That is all I have to say.

…there should be two separate debates here. But fans, myself included are apt to get distracted by the performance and the stat lines and the specific comment about believeing that Nate McMillan has no confidence in him.

In my opinion, Raymond Felton the player? The professional, playing for The Blazers? Really has no excuse. He has gotten minutes and opportunity and simply not executed and performed well. He should not, even if he believes it, publically made any statement about a lack of trust. It comes off as an excuse and one most fans will not accept. This team has an assistant coach, named Bernie Bickerstaff, who drafted Raymond Felton and coached him in the past. It’s very concievable that Nate McMillan aside, support does exist in the coaching ranks. Plus Raymond Felton should realize that personal differences aside, Nate McMillan and himself ultimately have the same goal. They both want to win. Nate certainly doesn’t want his starting PG questioning himself, Nate certainly would rather a succesful and confident PG. That should be good starting ground. But the truth also remains, regardless of how Raymond Felton “feels” about his relationship with McMillan, there is a definable difference between sideline and on the court during a game. McMillan is not with Felton when he steps on the court. It is Feltons job to step on that court and play as well as possible. I feel my coach doesn’t trust me…whether true or not, simply acts as an excuse and a purposely volatile statement.

Felton as a “Person” has every right to feel however he wishes to feel about those around him. Everyone has a the unwritten freedom to “like their boss” or “dislike their boss” or feel appreciated at work or underappreciated…or whatever.

What is unfortunate is I think reading the bombshell comments from Felton that he gave Chris Haynes 99% of them are perfectly valid comments from a struggling player. Infact most of the entire piece IS concievably what you’d want to hear from your struggling PG. The answers he gave as a “player” are what you want to hear…The answer he gave as Raymond Felton the person? While perhaps personally valid? Are NOT what you want to hear from a player.

Off a loss, with the team and perhaps the entire season teetering, what we have here is the personal truth from the immediate momentary perspective of Raymond Felton the person. And what it really is, is a horrible PR mistake.

I’m feeling “untrusted”, I’m feeling you have no confidence in me, is a conversation that should of remained between him and McMillan and behind the scenes. Unfortunately? It’s out of the bag. Now I think the best you hope for is that the truth sets everyone free. Either it clears the air between him or McMillan OR it simply officially ends the painful failed experiment Raymond Felton Blazer PG has become.

Seriously, I’m sick of them both.

THIS is what a lousy point guard looks like.

Can Felton play better? Who can’t? But at his best, Felton’s not on Miller’s level. And we may never even see his best in Portland. His confidence and relationship with Nate may be too far down the tubes.

Sounds to me like Felton is looking elswhere for reasons why he’s not playing well. What he’s failing to do is look in the mirror and take accountability for what he’s doing on the court. Nate has given him the opportunity and it’s up to him to take advantage of it. I compare this to the real business world. It’s up to ME to produce positive results and not point the finger at my boss when I produce poorly.

At this point, I really think we need to invest some time in Nolan. The downside is what?? He makes some mistakes out there on the court…. hmmmmm

how can you become sub 20% 3 point shooter all of a sudden?

His comments SOUND absolutely ridiculous.. I mean, Nate has given him quite a “long-leash” – he’s gotten lot’s of playing time for someone who’s been playing as terrible as he has – but I believe there’s more to the story. Raymond isn’t the first player to come to Portland and complain about Nate. To me, it look’s like “Sarge” is trying to get the players to conform to his idea of “good basketball”. The problem is the personnel we have don’t fit the bill, and whether or not his idea of good basketball is actually good basketball is arguable.

Our personnel needs a coach that runs good, set plays, to get good, open shots. Gets out on the break. ISN’T afraid to try an offense that fits the team’s personnel even if it leads to a couple more turnovers as long as the end result is a more efficient offense. This coach isn’t Nate. Nate is a decent (not even gonna say GOOD) coach for excellent isolation players such as Brandon Roy. We don’t have B-Roy anymore. Nate doesn’t fit the bill.

To go back to what I was originally stating, I don’t think what Felton said specifically is necessarily true, but I do believe coach is having an effect on his play. I don’t think it’s that coach has a lack of confidence in him, I think it’s that he isn’t good at what coach is ramming down his throat and that’s causing Ray himself to “lose confidence” and state things such as this after tough games. I just can’t blame Ray here. I believe basketball is a very mental sport, and if coach is making players lose confidence because he’s trying to make them conform to his idea of an ‘efficient" offense rather then working on playing torwards the team’s strengths, I can’t blame that on Felton.

Felton isn’t as bad as he’s been playing. He may be as bad as he’s been playing in Nate’s system, but that’s because Nate isn’t the right fit for him. Nobody on the roster is besides Jamal (is it a coincidence that when Jamal signed here, there was instantly that story about Nate wanting to “get his name into the rafters”? Favoritism torwards iso players much?). Also, let’s get something straight – Ray isn’t the only one to call out Nate McMillan in the past few years PUBLICLY. That’s a big claim because most guy’s don’t have the balls to say something like this publicly. I believe that there’s other players on this roster who are probably sick of Nate but just don’t say anything to the media. I believe that Raymond would be playing BETTER if we had a different coach, along with most of the guys on our team.

One major concern is that Felton visibly put on weight last season. It hasn’t caught up to him yet; in fact his defense is still quite good. But as he gets into his late 20s it’s going to be increasingly difficult to play effectively with a giant all-season radial under his jersey.

For this year, however, Felton could be quite good; he is 27 and entering his walk year, so the Blazers will likely get his best season. Additionally, his defense at the point of attack will be an upgrade on Andre Miller, and he’s a more capable floor spacer too.

This guy is a shooter that lost his shot. I do wonder if one of these games Felton is just going to go off and change all our minds.

Nate needs to tell Felton that he believes in him but he has to lose some weight. I have a feeling Felton is still not in his best shape.

or at least any chance of starting in this league. I’d be the last person to question the manhood of someone who brings up his mother’s trust and support (trust me on this), but to do it in the context of your pro ball career and your coach’s lack of confidence in you… I had to read the quote twice just to be sure I was processing correctly. Maybe the reporter simply made it up on the spot after all! Nah.

I was thrilled when Felton hit it big with the Knicks. What a nice way for things to turn out for someone who had played pretty well and then not gotten the appreciation he deserved from his team. But after the trade to my Nuggets, it became clear right quick like that this was a guy with a persecution complex, or a sense of entitlement, or maybe in perpetual crybaby mode—put it however you want.

So I was relieved when the trade with you guys went down. We got the proverbial crafty veteran, a very well known quantity for us, and y’all got a solid-to-very-good starting PG who I, as a closet Blazers fan (I’m not your typical rabid one-team guy), thought would fit really well. But it seems that a leopard really and truly cannot change its spots.

Here’s hoping something good happens for the Blazers at the deadline. If not, I have no doubt it will happen before next season. Good luck with it all.

You cannot blame Nate for Felton’s play because of how shockingly terrible he has been. When you’re that bad, there are no excuses. I would literally rather have Elliot Williams getting half his minutes.