Typically, the NBA allows the legal process to play out before a suspending a player, although there was one notable exception in recent years was former Wizard star Gilbert Arenas. Andrew Theodorakis/New York Daily News
Knicks point guard Raymond Felton, arrested early Tuesday morning on weapons charges, has two years left on his current contract.
The NBA is not putting the hammer down on Knicks guard Raymond Felton after his arrest on felony gun charges, even if there's a new sheriff in charge.
Under David Stern the league typically allowed the legal process to play out before suspending a player, with the one notable exception in how the long-time commissioner handled former Wizard star Gilbert Arenas when he got into trouble with firearms.
But almost always, the league waits for a case's outcome, and that protocol likely will continue with new commissioner Adam Silver, according to league sources.
RELATED: ISOLA: MORE BULLETS OVER BROADWAY FOR DOLAN'S LAUGHINGSTOCK KNICKSWith his next court date scheduled for June 2, Felton will most likely play out the rest of the season. 'We're monitoring the situation,' said a league official.
It's really not a surprise that Felton has been 'packing,' as the players call it. There is a gun culture in the NBA. It's alive and well, with one long-time agent who had a client involved in a gun case estimating that upwards of 300 of the league's roughly 450 players own guns.
How many are registered? Good question. Felton's pistol wasn't and that was just the start of his problems.
RELATED: LUPICA: KNICKS' FELTON HAD POTENT AMMO, NO BRAIN POWER'You might not understand it, but these guys feel the need to protect themselves,' the agent said, asking not to be quoted by name. 'It's part of the culture. They want to be able to defend themselves if they have to.'
If players aren't carrying guns when they're out clubbing, then the ones who employ security guards, normally ex-cops, are comforted by the fact that the big guys at their sides are always armed. Meanwhile, the teams' security detail, made up of former law enforcement officials, is often entrusted with telling players to make sure their guns are registered.
As you can see, the NBA is well past the point of wishing that its players didn't dabble in firearms. Before they ever go to training camp, rookies are walked through the do's and don'ts of owning guns as part of their league-mandated orientation program. From there, teams like nothing more than when somebody else's player is arrested on a gun rap. That gives them an excuse to remind their players to have their licenses in order, as more than a few certainly did Tuesday after learning of Felton's arrest.
RELATED: TIMELINE: RAYMOND FELTON'S CAREER FROM UNC TO NYKAs for allowing Felton to continue to play, that's the norm. The most dramatic example of that came in 2004 when Kobe Bryant was charged with rape in Colorado and kept playing as he went through his court case. During a year of pre-trial hearings, the Laker superstar on five different occasions appeared in Colorado court during the day and then played in a game the very same night. The case ended when the woman who accused Bryant of sexual assault was unwilling to testify, leaving the state no option but to drop all charges.
However, Felton might have trouble playing in one game - when the Knicks have to go to Canada on April 10 for a contest the next night against Toronto. According to legal experts, he might not be granted entry into Canada with a felony charge pending.
Although this is another gun episode, Felton's case has little in common with Arenas', one of the few times the league suspended a player before he was charged with a crime.
RELATED: KNICKS' RAYMOND FELTON CHARGED WITH FELONY WEAPONS POSSESSIONAfter reports surfaced that Washington's star brought firearms into the Wizards' locker room, Arenas was suspended indefinitely on Jan. 6, 2010, without pay. But that came after he went through the layup line before a game in Philadelphia, making hand gestures that imitated firing off a gun. Stern ruled Arenas' conduct showed he was not 'fit to take the court.' It wasn't until Jan. 14 that Arenas was charged with felony gun possession.
But Arenas' misconduct occurred on NBA property, while Felton was arrested after his estranged wife's lawyer brought his unregistered pistol to police, 11 days after he allegedly waved it at her in their West Side apartment during a Valentine's Day argument. That's a major difference.
The Knicks can look to void Felton's deal under the standard contract morals clause, which would wipe out the final two seasons of his pact worth $7.7 million.
Most likely, they'll keep him, which will give his many detractors another reason to invoke the name of Jeremy Lin. It was Garden chairman Jim Dolan's unpopular decision to let Lin leave for Houston and also his call to acquire Felton.
Bad moves, only worsened by Felton's new legal troubles.
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