L.A. Lakers Trade Speculation: Should Lakers Pursue Nuggets PG Raymond Felton?

Now that all of the hype and hoopla has subsided surrounding Carmelo Anthony going to New York in exchange for 90 percent of the Knicks roster, one-third ownership in Madison Square Garden and a dozen players to be named later, can we all settle down and take a look at what the Los Angeles Lakers just might have discovered in all this?

The one piece that’s truly missing for the Lakers in the team’s race to repeat is a strong starting point guard. 

Raymond Felton, the former New York Knick and current Denver Nugget for all of 24 hours, would instantly move into a starting and starring role in a Lakers uniform.

His numbers this year are the best of his five-year career and certainly All-Star caliber. The 6’1” 205-pound Felton is averaging 17.1 points per game in 38.4 minutes.

But, more importantly, he’s a great passer and floor leader, with nine assists per game. That’s three more assists per game than Derek Fisher (2.7), Shannon Brown (1.2) and Steve Blake (2.1) combined.

The rumors are already starting to fly about Felton and a possible short layover in Denver on his way to somewhere else. The Nuggets already have an exceptional point guard in Ty Lawson, and Felton may not be too comfortable with coming off the bench.

Could that “somewhere else” be Los Angeles?   

ESPN.com’s senior NBA writer Marc Stein was interviewed Tuesday about Carmelopalooza. He said that trading Felton was a strong possibility.

“There’s a very high likelihood,” Stein said, “that the Nuggets will trade these guys (Felton and center Timofey Mozgov, who also came over to Denver from New York) before the deadline Thursday.”

NBA Fanhouse wrote: “George Karl expects Raymond Felton to share time on the court with Ty Lawson, if Felton is not dealt by the Nuggets. That's some relatively good ...