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When the Mavs traded for Tyson Chandler and Raymond Felton earlier this summer, the smaller subplot of the deal was the status of Felton. Felton pleaded guilty to gun charges in January as a member of the Knicks.
It appears we have our answer.
Dallas' Raymond Felton suspended four games for guilty pleas to gun charges, NBA says.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) August 7, 2014
Mavs PR sent over some official statements from Mark Cuban and Felton. Here's Cuban's comments:
"Today we were made aware of Raymond Felton's suspension. We also learned that Raymond will be permitted to complete his community service outside the state of New York. The Mavericks are working with Raymond and the court to develop a community service program that will have a positive and lasting impact on North Texas."
And here's Felton:
"I demonstrated poor judgment and I take full responsibility for my actions. Moving forward I'm eager to get to Dallas, to start fresh and make a positive impact in the Dallas metropolitan area."
As for on the court impact? Not much. The Mavs signed Jameer Nelson to the room exception and he'll presumably take up the starting job with Devin Harris retaining his sixth man/closer role from the end of last season.
Felton had an awful year last year. Regardless of suspension, Nelson's the better player right now. He's a more reliable passer and long-range shooter, which is exactly what the Mavs starting backcourt needs with Monta doing a lot of pick and roll work with Dirk.
That isn't to say Felton can't contribute this season. He had a pretty great run in New York before getting traded to Denver. The combination of Dirk + Carlisle works wonders on guards. But since that first stint in New York, Felton's entered a lot of training camps saying "he'll be better." The only difference is that we'll see if he can improve four games later than before.