Tag Archive for 'Chauncey Billups'

The free agent market gets smaller

Published by Matt Watson on July 9, 2008 in From the news and Rumors. 144 Comments

Today is the first day that free agents can officially sign contracts. Not surprisingly, there were a slew of commitments made in the last 24-48 hours, including a bunch made by players the Pistons were believed to be targeting. Let’s recap:

  • Elton Brand goes to Philly (five years, $82 million). The Pistons never had a chance at him, but his arrival to the 76ers will definitely affect them come next year. This won’t make the Sixers into instant favorites like the Kevin Garnett deal did for the Celtics, but at the very least it does make them a threat to get home court advantage in the East. And let’s be blunt: if the Sixers had a healthy Brand in the playoffs last year, would the Pistons have still won in six? I’m not so sure.

    All of a sudden, the Atlantic Division — with the defending champs in Boston, Jermaine O’Neal joining Chris Bosh in Toronto, Brand joining an already feisty squad in Philly and Mike D’Antoni running the show in New York — looks like one of the most competitive in the entire league. (I’m not saying it’s one of the best — that’s probably still the Southwest Division — but top to bottom it should be damn competitive.)

  • Corey Maggette to the Warriors (five years, $50 million). Let’s see: accept the MLE and a reduced role on a contender, or take the money and play a leading role for the Warriors. It’s an easy call, and one most of us would have made, as well, were we in his shoes. I really, really would have liked to see Maggette sign with the Pistons, but guys with his skills deserve to be paid. This deal just makes more sense.
  • Mickael Pietrus to the Magic (four years, $24 million). He’s getting a shade under the MLE, which the Pistons probably never considered giving him. Strictly in terms of talent this makes sense for the Magic (their backcourt was a joke last year), but my gut says Orlando overpaid.
  • James Jones to the Heat? (five years, $20-ish million) Last I heard it’s just an offer, but Jones was born and raised in Miami and spent four years at the University of Miami. The last three years are conditional so the Heat can have flexibility come 2010 (read: re-sign Dwyane Wade), so it’s possible Jones might still be convinced to sign elsewhere if someone guarantees the entire contract.

There are still some of guys left, but it’s mostly the second-tier guys that aren’t anyone’s first, second or third option. That’s not always a bad thing — I was blindsided by Jarvis Hayes’ arrival last summer, and even though Hayes was out of the rotation by the end of the year, I actually thought he exceeded expectations.

That said, we knew from the get-go this summer that the biggest change wouldn’t happen through free agency. If (or when) it happens, it’ll be in the form of a trade. According to “Boobie” Dumars, though, nothing is brewing at the moment. From (as usual) A. Sherrod Blakely:

“I can tell you that there is nothing imminent and there have only been conversations,” Dumars said. “But nothing imminent in terms of a deal or close to a deal.”

One of the reasons for that might have been the base-year compensation limitations on Billups’ contract, which was signed last summer.

Players who re-sign with their respective teams, have a trade value that’s equal to half of their actual salary in the first year of the deal. Those restrictions will be lifted Wednesday.

[…] “I like to act decisively whenever I’m trying to get something done,” Dumars said. “But I’m well aware that there has to be another team that’s willing, and there has to be a good deal for both teams. Those two things will slow you down in doing a deal.

“What you have to do is be patient. What you can’t do is run out and make a knee-jerk deal just to prove a point. You have to be smart about stuff like this and you have to know that it’s a deal that you know is going to help your team get better.”

ASB makes an interesting point regarding Billups’ contract that I think most fans (myself included) forgot about. Now that there are no more restrictions and the first batch of free agents have signed, don’t be surprised to see the rumor mill churn out fresh material in the coming days.

Chauncey Billups pulls out of Olympics

Published by Matt Watson on June 18, 2008 in From the news. 26 Comments

Chauncey Billups has pulled out of the Olympics citing a personal family issue. From Ric Bucher at ESPN.com:

“It’s a matter of what you want to do and what you need to do,” said Billups, who declined to be more specific about the family matter prompting his withdrawal from the team. “Winning a gold medal is the one thing that I haven’t accomplished, and I was looking forward to standing up on that big stage. That’s what I really wanted. But I was taught family comes first, above anything else.”

[…] Billups was concerned that his family issue might either distract him in Beijing or force him to return to the United States before or during competition. While the squad has not been officially announced, he was confident he would’ve been selected and, with competition to make the roster fierce, didn’t want to take a spot if he couldn’t be fully committed to the cause.

Whatever it is, I wish Billups and his family the best.

Tayshaun Prince is also on the bubble, which seems odd to me. On a roster full of superstars, he actually saw a good deal of playing time last summer, and he seems like the perfect no-ego glue guy Team USA has sorely lacked in recent years.

(Not that I’m complaining — as much of an honor as it is to represent your country, playing competitive ball all summer isn’t exactly what a guy who’s advanced to the Conference Finals every year of his career needs to be doing to re-charge his batteries.)

Billups stumps for Obama

Published by Matt Watson on June 17, 2008 in Alley-Oops. 1 Comment

Who says athletes today aren’t as political as they used to be? With the Wallace-Kander campaign failing to gain momentum, Chauncey Billups was at Joe Louis Arena stumping for Barack Obama on Monday night. (Thanks to DBB reader joejoejoe for the link)

Will Chauncey miss the Olympics?

Published by Matt Watson on June 16, 2008 in Alley-Oops. 1 Comment

Chris McCosky doesn’t think Chauncey Billups will make the final cuts for the Olympics. Chris Sheridan agrees, and puts Tayshaun Prince on the bubble, as well.

More Melo/Billups rumblings

Published by Matt Watson on June 10, 2008 in Alley-Oops and Rumors. 16 Comments

The Denver Post’s Woody Paige wants to swap Carmelo (… and Camby, Kenyon and Atkins) for Billups (… and Tayshaun, Rasheed and this year’s first-rounder), but ‘Melo’s agent continues to deny that his client is on the block.

Billups isn’t ready to sit … but should he?

Published by Matt Watson on May 26, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs and Injuries. 23 Comments

As much as I’d like to pretend otherwise, it’s officially time to ponder whether Chauncey Billups is healthy enough to make any kind of sustained impact in this series. I thought he turned a corner in Game 2, but in hindsight it seems more likely that a) Game 2 was a mirage; b) he aggravated the injury in Game 2; or c) some combination of above.

Whatever the case, Billups is intent is playing on. From the Free Press:

“I don’t want it to be an issue,” he said. “As much as it is, I don’t want it to be. The bottom line is I’ve got to play better. We’ve got to play better. Whether it’s still hurt or not, I’ve still gotta play through it … and that’s exactly what I intend on doing.”

[…] “I think, at this juncture of the season, you can’t sit out,” Billups said. “I’m … one of the main leaders of this team. No matter what’s going on, I feel like I’m better out there on the court.”

He also talked a bit about how he can help if he’s not producing:

“(In Game 3), I, personally, didn’t do a good job of leading,” Billups said. “And that’s not just shooting the ball or scoring the ball. I just didn’t do a good job of leading. The game got away from us early. I didn’t step up enough vocally when guys were missing coverages and things weren’t going right.

“When I can’t do the things that I’m accustomed to doing offensively, there have gotta be other ways to have a presence. I thought I waited too late yesterday to step up and lead that way.”

I don’t want to underestimate the importance of on-court leadership, but if it’s a given that Billups can’t play any better than he did in Game 3, I’d prefer he impart his words of wisdom from the sidelines and let Rodney Stuckey clock 40 minutes of action.

Maybe it won’t come to that, maybe Arnie Kander spent Sunday afternoon conjuring black magic on Billups’ hamstring, but if things can’t drastically improve, I’d rather have that energy on the court early in the game instead of inserted halfway through the first quarter when the Pistons are already facing a double-digit deficit.

Billups was a -25 on Saturday. I know it’s misleading to read too much into single-game plus/minus numbers, but in Billups’ four stints on the floor, the Pistons didn’t score more points than they gave up once.

Stuckey, meanwhile, was a +3. Sure, he had the advantage of not facing Boston’s starters 100% of the time, but what if he had? Does anyone think it’d result in a 28-point swing? I don’t see it that way.

For what it’s worth, Billups isn’t completely against swallowing his pride for the greater good …

Keeping Billups off the floor isn’t easy — or usually smart. But if that’s what it takes to beat Boston, he said he’ll go along with it.

“The bottom line is we’re going to try to win,” Billups said. “If that’s what that means, then that’s what that means.”

… I just hope the coaching staff has the guts to make a quick decision, because this team can ill-afford another 27 minutes of nothingness out of the point guard spot. If he’s not productive from jump street, give him the quick hook and let him spend the rest of the half on the trainer’s table. And if he’s still not loose come the third quarter, put him on ice and let Stuckey finish.

Making a bold move now sends the decisive signal that the most productive players will decide this series. Waiting until you’re down 3-1 to shake things up reeks of desperation and could very well trigger another meltdown like last year’s Game 6. And if Flip Saunders can’t recognize that by now, I might have to take back all the nice things I just said two days ago.

Chauncey Billups: I have to be more aggressive

Published by Matt Watson on May 22, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs and Injuries. 37 Comments

Chauncey Billups expects to be more aggressive in Game 2. From Keith Langlois’ blog:

Billups said he came out of Game 1 feeling pretty good physically and expects not only he, but backcourt partner Rip Hamilton, will attack more often in Game 2.

“I’m going to – I probably will,” he said. “I know with Rip and I not being aggressive and trying to score the ball, our chances, they go down a little bit. So I think that he and I both have to be a little more aggressive, and that’s not necessarily taking shots but just getting into the teeth of the defense. You know they load up, you know they’re going to be coming off on penetration, and (it’s important) to get guys easier shots and not fight the shot clock so much.

“The rhythm was a little bit off, but even when they don’t let you reverse the ball, then that’s when you’re going to take action, take seams. That’s just something that once you see how teams are playing certain things, that’s when you make certain adjustments. I think we’ll do a better job of that tomorrow.”

Like I said before, Game 1 was all testing the hamstring and regaining rhythm; tonight’s game is when we should expect the real Chauncey Billups to step forward. Rip Hamilton plans on giving his backcourt mate a hand. From Chris McCosky:

“If you watch our offense, 80 percent of the time it starts with the ball in Chauncey’s hands,” Hamilton said. “We have to put him in a situation where he can come out and catch the ball and not have to spend a whole lot of energy bringing it up the court.”

Hamilton suggested that he or Prince could bring the ball up.

“[Boston] is so aggressive on the strong side of the ball,” said Hamilton. “Chauncey has to spend so much energy bringing it up, then when he comes off he’s facing a loaded-up defense. Once he gets out of that, there’s seven or eight seconds on the shot clock.

From the sounds of things, Billups is hoping he’ll be able to get Rasheed Wallace more involved, as well. From Chris Silva in the Free Press:

The Pistons want to get their versatile big man more involved tonight, but defensive player of the year Kevin Garnett isn’t the only Celtic standing in the way. Because Boston loads up on the strong side, Wallace is seeing defenders from every angle.

“They’ve got a guy at the elbow, they’ve got a guy coming behind if (Wallace) is to get by KG, so you’ve got to be able to create ways to shoot the ball,” Chauncey Billups said. “You can’t just (isolate) him down there. (Garnett is) too good defensively.”

Neither Billups nor Wallace looked anything like the players they were for most of the year up until this point; if they revert to form, this series should head back to Detroit all tied up.

Charles Barkley is TNT’s spiritual leader

Published by Matt Watson on May 22, 2008 in Alley-Oops, Around the Internets and Videos. 2 Comments

Not relevant, just funny. On a side note, Barkley has had a rough week, but he’s handled it like a champ. Hat-tip to Awful Announcing for the vid, of course. (Update: bummer, video has been removed)

Chauncey Billups isn’t 100%

Published by Matt Watson on May 20, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs and Injuries. 17 Comments

From Chris McCosky in the Detroit News:

“I’m feeling pretty good,” he said, “and for what’s not good I know once the adrenaline gets going and the excitement of the game, I will be fine.”

He was asked if he has regained full range of motion, could he do everything he could before the injury.

“Not everything, but I am good enough to play,” he said. “All I asked for when I got hurt was that I can get back to being good enough to play. As far as being the best that I can be, I don’t know if I can get to that. We only have another month or so left. But I wasn’t asking for that. I just want to be good enough to play and hopefully I can be productive.”

Knowing this, I appreciate the long lay-off between games even more so.

Will fatigue be a factor for Boston?

Published by Matt Watson on May 20, 2008 in 2008 Playoffs and Celtics. 4 Comments

After beating the Cavaliers, Kevin Garnett spoke about the toll two seven-game series have taken on his team. From Kevin McNamara of the Providence Journal:

“As you advance, it does get a little more difficult,” forward Kevin Garnett said. “Detroit has obviously been resting and waiting, and we’ve played 14 hard games. We’re more emotionally drained than anything, but we’re getting prepared for Detroit (today).”

The Pistons see this as a potential advantage … but also a trap. From Chris McCosky of the Detroit News:

“It’s a tough turnaround for them,” Billups said. “For seven games they’ve been locked into one team. Then you’ve got one day to prepare for another team that’s been waiting and ready to go. We’ll see how they handle it.

“But frankly, I don’t care if they handle it at all. I am just worried about us.”

Lindsey Hunter cautioned his teammates against thinking the Celtics might be physically or mentally fatigued.

“We can’t go into the series thinking that is an advantage for us,” he said. “We have to go and play them like they’ve swept everybody.

“They were the best team in the NBA. They didn’t accomplish that by chance. That (fatigue) won’t be a factor.”

If the Pistons want to take this series, I think they need to split the first two games. Trouble is, Game 1 will be the most difficult after a long layoff — the Pistons may not like to admit it, but they’re definitely a rhythm team that benefits when players have a chance to stay in a groove. Fortunately, there are no more funky breaks between now and the NBA Finals — the Pistons and Celtics will play every other day until someone wins four.

Besides, if I had to choose between starting out-of-sync and being fatigued, the choice is easy: the former improves the more you play, the latter gets worse. And after banging the “they lost because they were tired!” drum for two straight years, I’m kind of excited to know that the Pistons are more rested now than they’ve been the entire season. It’s time to put up or shut up.

Update: Ray Allen adds his two cents:

“I would rather have the rhythm” of regular competition than extra rest, Allen said, “because (with) the rhythm you don’t have to guess from one day to the next” how you’ll play.

Take this with a mountain-sized grain of salt: this is a guy who scored 0, 16, 10, 15, 11, 9 and 4 points, respectively, in the Cleveland series. I guarantee no one on the Celtics’ roster has a clue which Ray Allen will show up from night to night — he may be Boston’s biggest wild card of the playoffs.

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