Los Angeles Clippers: Ranking new players from free agency

2. Raymond Felton

Pablo Prigioni is heading back to the Houston Rockets. There were never any strong indications that the Clippers were keen in keeping him around, and it’s hardly a terrible loss, especially now that he’s 39 years old.

The best part about Prigioni was his sneakiness. The knack of snatching away inbounds passes and racking up steals at an alarming rate for a bench player nearing their 40s. That’s what Prigioni did, though, tallying eight steals in less than 15 minutes in a January game against the Miami Heat and averaging 2.3 per 36 minutes for the season.

He also helped set up the second unit and connected well with Cole Aldrich in pick-and-rolls, but age was really catching up with Prigioni as an on-ball defender and his lack of aggression on offense was concerning. He attempted a mere 6.4 field goals per 36 minutes, and his efficiency fell, too, as his three-point percentage hit a career-low 29.5.

To provide more assertiveness, youth (if you can try to call it that for a 32-year-old), and scoring spark off the bench, the Clippers have turned to Raymond Felton as their new third point guard.

In the areas mentioned, signing Felton for the minimum already makes him worthy of a high place on this list, even though he isn’t far ahead of Bass and Anderson.

With four minimum players, there’s no exactly a ton separating them.

With no Blake Griffin to help anchor the second unit for most of last season and streaky three-point shooters, the backup offense could easily stagnate and rely on too many threes or Jamal Crawford isolations. Sure, that allowed Crawford to win his record-breaking third Sixth Man of the Year award, but it didn’t allow the Clippers’ bench to be too diverse or efficient. At the very least, it would often fall on that man’s shoulders when a basket was needed.

There’s no denying that Felton’s playing time will be limited. That’s a given for the third point guard. However, while he may be behind Austin Rivers, Felton can allow Rivers to spend more time at shooting guard (pressure running the point still isn’t Rivers’ forte) and maintain capable playmaking at point guard himself.

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Last season, Felton recorded the lowest turnover percentage (13.7) of his career. Even as a non-prolific passer, he proved that he can stay well conditioned, start the offense, and provide his occasional scoring spark off the bench in Dallas.

Efficiency and three-point play is the obvious drawback that Clippers fans may be concerned with. He only shot 40.6 percent last season and a 28.2 percent stroke from three continued an underwhelming trend that has been the case for most of his career.

That being said, Felton finishes fairly strong inside (63.5 percent within three feet) and averaged 15 points per game on 46.4 percent shooting in the playoffs. He showed what he can do in key moments, which gave Mavericks fans another reason to enjoy his place on the team.

In Doc Rivers’ three-guard lineups, Felton can benefit from more space and alleviate some pressure from Rivers, along with more aggression and overall experience than Prigioni to be a solid backup point whenever he’s needed.

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