Former Blazers G Raymond Felton Issues Warning Before Rose Garden Return

New York Knicks point guard Raymond Felton is set to make his first return trip to the Rose Garden on Thursday after spending a disastrous 2011-12 season with the Portland Trail Blazers. He sounds pretty excited.

Al Iannazzone of Newsday reports on Twitter...

Raymond Felton said when returns to Portland tomorrow: "there are certain people there I don't want to see and better not come near me."

Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reports on Twitter...

Raymond Felton on the eve of his return to Portland says his brief time with the Blazers was the "worst moment I had in basketball for sure"

Raymond Felton says he has no problem with Portland fans but "certain people there I don't want to see and better not come near me."

Just a guess but "certain people" that better not "come near" Felton in Portland are probably media folks & maybe someone in organization

On possibly facing a hostile crowd in Portland, Raymond Felton said: "I could care less what they do or what they say. That's behind me."

Last summer, Felton promised to "drop 50" points in his return to Portland.

"I'm a free agent so maybe those bloggers and those people who write won't have to see me again. Maybe they won't, until I'm coming in on the other end and droppin' 50 on 'em. We'll see what happens. Who knows. Still no bad taste in my mouth with Portland. I still got a lot of great relationships there with the owner, management and as well some of the players. Who knows what might happen. I still might go back there. We'll see what happens."

Felton's 2011-12 season got off to a slow start when he returned from the lockout in poor condition and it went downhill from there, as he struggled with turnovers and poor outside shooting. In March 2012, Felton was implicated in a "mutiny" against former coach Nate McMillan and hit with the "cancer" tag. In April 2012, Felton welcomed his critics to confront him at his condo and said that criticism of his play and conditioning was a "spit in my face."

The Blazers sign-and-traded him to the Knicks in July 2012. In November 2012, he clarified that it wasn't his intention to eat his way out of Portland.

-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter