Disgusting

Chauncey is so worth that, I hope we can retain his services.

wjb,

I have always respected your opinion, but you are way off w/ your opinion of Chauncey. Chauncey has all the respect of being one of the best PG's in the league from all his peers. They respect his play, his leadership, his aggressiveness, and his overall game. He has been top 2 or 3 in assist to turnover ratio every year since he has been in Detroit, even w/ Carlisle at the helm, so that is not a fluke. He may not be quick, but he is stronger then any other PG i the league and because of that cannot be bodied up or posted up on defense and he has quick hands and good anticipation and knows where to be positioned on the floor defensively, which makes up for him not being as quick as other guards. He is a tremendous leader and everyone in the lockerroom respects him and his opinion. That is not to be overlooked. He is a clutch FT shooter and always is above 90% every season. That is no small thing. He gets everyone involved. It is no coincidence that our offense stalls when he isn't on the floor. He hits 40% of his 3 point attempts most years, which is a great percentage. He is not afraid to take the big shot, and most times will hit them. He is clutch.

1) He wasn't clutch this year, not in key situations anyhow.

2) He turned the ball over like MAD in the playoffs.

3) He is TERRIBLE at playing defense.

4) He needs to be restrained from taking HORRIBLE shots, which he does WAY too often. If you tallied those ridiculous 3 pointers that he takes early in the shot clock (15 seconds +) with NO ONE down low as "turnovers" his stats would look FAR less impressive.

5) The league is cracking down on his style of play.

6) He's already 30-31 and getting slower, what do you think he's going to look like in 2-5 years?

The dood is going to be 35 making 13 million dollars per season, and if you think he'll be worth anywhere close to that at 35, when he's already slow now, you're crazy.

I'll address these in the same order, wjb:

1) Billups is always clutch. Hitting game winning shots doesn't always constitute clutch. Chauncey always hit his freethrows down the stretch in close games when other teams are trying to come back and almost always gets the right players involved in late game situations. That is clutch....

2) I cannot defend the fact that Billups did have a terrible playoff series against Cleveland, but the whole team struggled, not just him. But as stated before, one playoff series does not define his career w/ Detroit.

3) Billups is not the best defender in the league, but he is far from terrible. He was voted 2nd team all NBA defense 2 years in a row, and that is voted on by the GM's and writers, not fan's. He is far from the fastest player, but he plays smart position defense and has quick hands and never get's bodied for postups or getting screened.

4) I do agree that Billups takes some bad shots at times when there is still alot of time left on the clock, but he has always done that, even when LB was there. But that is just the aggrssive player he is, and I would not take that from him at all. It's who he is....

5) The league is cracking down on alot of things, but Chauncey's play can adapt fine to what the league is trying to do. The league wants scoring up and reward players that are aggressive and draw contact going to the basket, which Chauncey can do. Now, I do agree he doesn't do this enough, but he has the ability.

6) Chauncey is 31 and will lose a step or two in the next 5 years, but he is still one of the strongest and smartest PG's in the league, and those attributes will make up for him losing a step. All players lose a step at that age, but Nash actually got better because he is smart and plays to his strengths, which Chauncey can do as well.

I can't say that Chauncey will be worth his contract at 35, but I can say that he will be worth it for 3 years, which gives us time to mentor a PG for the future.....

Funny, they said the exact same thing about Steve Nash in Dallas 3 years ago - two MVPs later and guess who would like a do over. The Mavs are still searching for a PG and the talk in Dallas is that the Mavs, like every other team, would love Billups, but there is no way the Stones let him walk.

Billups isn't a "speed" guy, more of a power PG. His aging is going to impact his style of play less than most point guards.

Again, if you don't have a viable replacement your points are mute. I'm hearing rookies and I'm not putting the fate of a team that has been to the Eastern Conf. Finals as regular as Trump-Rosie blowups in their hands.

As long as the Pistons retain Billups they have a chance to go to the finals every year. For $13M a year, that is a bargain.

Very good points...

Then I would rather just give him a max deal (15 mill per) for 3 years. Why sell out the team now and have two years left on a garbage deal on an over-the-hill player? Personally I don't think this team needs to "win now." I don't think next year is a championship or bust year, and IMO that's what we'll be looking at if we sign Chauncy to a 5 year deal.

Everyone is all for admitting that Chauncy had a poor Cleaveland series, but no one wants to acknowledge the fact that he had a HORRIBLE PLAYOFFS... EVERY series was bad for Chauncy, not just the last.

The point about Nash is moot. He plays an ENTIRELY different game. He sees the court well, doesn't turn the ball over much, and hits crazy shots. He has a natural talent for the game (personally I don't like him and I think he gets crazy lucky, but the dood does it too consistently to chalk it up as pure luck). IMO Chauncy losing a step is going to kill him. No he doesn't play a "speed game" per se, but he does use his quick first step to get open. I see that fading, and once its gone all he will have left is a mediocre jump shot, and a decent post-up game against other guards. I say for 13 million per season, you have to get more than that. I don't see him doing ANYTHING spectacular and I think this team is good enough to be able to win with Murry or a rookie running the point. Will we be world beaters this year? Nope. Would we have been better off keeping Chauncy next year? Yup, but thereafter I think we will be at a net gain for the remaining four years of the proposed deal.

Sports talk radio is calling the Pistons cheap left and right for what they're offering Chauncy. I say give him the money or give him the years, NOT both. He can't have it both ways. He can't want a contract that will pay him for two years past his likely worth, AND get paid more than 13 million dollars per season to do it. That's just ridiculous. I just hope Bill D. doesn't let Chauncy bend him over, but it looks like it's coming.


Pablo, just because you aren't comfortable with a rookie running the point this year it doesn't make my point moot. You don't kill a team because there is a lack of a better option THIS YEAR in FA. You don't let a player muscle you around in negotiations simply because there isn't another viable option. I would let a rookie run the point this year and perhaps sign a FA next year, trade for a PG before or during the season, or trade for a superstar to make the rookie PG's job easier.

Thing is wjb, we don't know what the length of the contract is going to be. They are reporting both 4 year and 5 year deals at this point. The 4 year deal is said to have a club option for a 5th year. The 5 year deal is just that, all guaranteed. Obviously, Chauncey and his agent both want the longer deal, and I'm sure Joe is negotiaiting the shorter deal that favors the club. At this point, Joe has the upper hand because of the 3 teams w/ the cap space to sign Chauncey are making other moves. Milwaukee has offered a 5 year/40 million deal to their current PG, Mo Williams. Orlando just offered a max deal to Rashard Lewis (which is ridiculous, IMO). And Memphis drafted Conley, Jr.

With that said, the Pistons are basically bidding against themselves, cause no one else can offer what they can. I can see this ending up as a 4 year deal w/ a club option for a 5th, at around $12 million per. IMO, that would be an excellent deal.

Allegedly we have agreed to terms with Chauncy for 5 years $60 Million. It is still up in the air if the 5th year is going to be guaranteed or a club option. I guess this is sort of a compromise between the deal I wanted and the deal he wanted. IF the 5th year is a club option I think it is a decent deal, but I think he got the better end of it.

On a side note... One reason I didn't want Billups back is to change the nucleaus of the team. We looked sloppy, lacked energy, and played with no heart in the playoffs. I was hoping next year wouldn't be the "same old Pistons," but it looks like it will be.

FWIW... Sports talk radio said we will be re-signing Amir Johnson and most likely signing Grant Hill to conclude our off-season.

If not Grant Hill then Mo P from the Raptors.

I would far prefer Mo Pete even though he is a Sparty. LOL.

Grant Hill has never been as good as advertised when he came out of College. He is also damaged goods that can't play half the time. The Pistons committed grand larceny when they completed the sing and trade with him.

Grant Hill, when healthy, was a very very good player. I am not going to say he was a superstar but or a savior of any franchise...but the guy was triple double crazy in his prime.

Billy wrote:



You cannot be serious, Billy. Grant Hill was one of the top players in the entire league in his prime. As Alpha stated, he was a triple-double machine. Until his lingering ankle injury, he was easily among the top 5 players in the league. The only issue Grant had was that his supporting cast in Detroit was awful. Outside of Allan Houston (who left to sign w/ the Knicks) and Joe Dumars (who was old), he had no one.

Now, I'm not sure the Pistons committed grand larceny, as you say. Sure, we lucked out on Big Ben being the perfect fit for our team, but when Grant signed w/ the Magic at the same time Tracy McGrady did, they were being touted as the next great duo in the NBA. Unfortunately, that never came to fruition.

But Grant played 70+ games last season and would be a great addition coming off our bench.....

Well, Grant has accepted a 2 year deal w/ the Suns, so it's looking like we may target either Mo Pete or D. Mason.