While the lockout has squelched player movement in the N.B.A. — except when they are leaving for Turkey like Deron Williams — it’s worth a look back at one of the moves made before business went dark: Portland’s trade for former Knicks guard Raymond Felton.

Raymond Felton is not an elite point guard. He’s not the kind of kingmaker who can transform star teammates into superstars, role players into quasi-stars, and fringe N.B.A. talent into legitimate contributors. Felton simply exists in a lesser realm than the league’s greats; his vision, instincts, and approach make him successful, but limited.

Rick Bowmer/Associated Press

That isn’t so much an indictment of his game as it is a necessary acknowledgement. Not every player in the league is going to be great, but when put in the right situation, many can exceed their expected production and success. Felton is who he is, and that is not a bad thing. He simply needs more working in his favor than do the Chris Pauls of the world. He needs an agreeable system and the right kind of roster complement. He needs a coach willing to let him make mistakes. He needs the systemic flexibility to let him attack in the open court. But perhaps not too much.

Felton’s 54-game tenure as a Knick was the most successful stretch of his six-year N.B.A. career. He scored, passed, and ran the offense more effectively than ever, which has been associated with the fast pace that New York employs. That idea would seem particularly relevant now that Felton has been traded from Denver, who played at a breakneck pace after dealing Carmelo Anthony, to Portland, a team that has long played at one of the league’s slowest paces.



But seeing Felton’s 2010-11 campaign as a product of an up-tempo offense ignores the other factors that worked in his favor. Felton’s move to New York wasn’t just about pushing the break, but playing for a flat-out superior offensive team. Even at their best, the Charlotte Bobcats –- Felton’s previous club -– were a miserable offensive outfit. The Bobcats peaked with the 24th-ranked offense during Felton’s time, which likely has more to do with unimaginative offensive coaching (Larry Brown, Sam Vincent, and Bernie Bickerstaff aren’t exactly masterminds on that end of the court) and a lack of complementary offensive talent. After all, Felton only improved as his team did; the more firepower the Bobcats added, the higher Felton’s numbers climbed.

The Bobcats played slowly, but their inability to score over the last half-decade likely stemmed from the fact that Felton, Gerald Wallace, and Emeka Okafor were asked to shoulder the bulk of Charlotte’s scoring load. Talented though each of those players may be, none is an offensive centerpiece. The same is true of Stephen Jackson, who for all of his many offensive talents, is far too inefficient (and perhaps far too volatile) to ever act as a team’s fulcrum.

Getting up and down the court certainly didn’t hurt Felton, but pace alone wasn’t what enabled him to post career highs in P.E.R., assist rate, and offensive rating. Felton doesn’t have the kind of breakneck speed or impressive athleticism that would make him a weapon in the open court. The key was in playing alongside Amar’e Stoudemire, the most talented teammate Felton has ever had, and suiting up for Mike D’Antoni, an offensive wizard whose half-court system is criminally underrated.

With those factors in mind, Felton has actually landed with an interesting Knicks analogue. Portland and New York couldn’t be more different in terms of pace, but the Blazers, too, have an All-Star caliber big man in LaMarcus Aldridge, and a savvy coach in Nate McMillan who can be trusted to orchestrate an offense in a way that Larry Brown and Bernie Bickerstaff simply could not. The fit between Felton and the Blazers could turn out to be even better than most think; Felton not only has a skill set more accommodating to the Blazers’ needs than did outgoing point guard Andre Miller, but the structure of the team itself should help Felton recapture some of what made him such a dynamic player in New York, pace be damned.