A week ago, the Knicks publicly declared they were poised to match the offer sheet Jeremy Lin received from the Rockets.
Yesterday, with the Lin situation still unresolved — at least publicly — the team finalized a sign and trade to acquire point guard Raymond Felton from the Trail Blazers and an NBA source told The Post last night Felton has already been told he is the Knicks’ starting point guard and that Jason Kidd will be his backup.
However, if the Knicks do decide to match Lin’s offer sheet, the Knicks would only do so to have Lin as a potential trade chip and with designs on playing Kidd at shooting guard. The Knicks would not be permitted to trade Lin until Dec. 15.
Felton, the fifth pick overall in the 2005 draft out of North Carolina, averaged 11.4 points, 6.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.30 steals for Portland last season in what many considered to be a down year for the 28-year-old.