Posts tagged ChaunceyBillups at FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

As Watson noted earlier, Baron Davis has been mentioned in some pretty hefty mega-super-uber deal between the Warriors and the Pistons. The rumor is that an Al Harrington and Boom Dizzle for Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups swap would go down. The problem?

Baron can still opt out of his contract, meaning the deal simply could not happen. But Dizzle, through his agent, appears content to get paid $17.8 million next year and stick with the Warriors.

"It doesn't seem likely," [Todd] Ramasar said. "The market could change anytime, but it's unlikely."

[...]"Baron's adamant about remaining a Warrior, but we've yet to come up with an extension," Ramasar said. "As of right now, there's no guarantee that those talks continue, and from a player's standpoint, it becomes emotional."

Here's the second catch -- Baron can't officially not opt out until next Tuesday. And because such a deal between the Pistons and the Warriors would almost certainly have to include a draft pick (as MW, the 14th pick seems reasonable).

Of course, those timelines don't exactly match up. But it's not like the Warriors can't simply pick who Detroit wants and then make the trade for Big Shot and 'Sheed immediately following Baron's decision.

Now, there's puh-lenty of risk involved with that, namely that Baron doesn't opt out. But you would have to figure that Joe Dumars and Chris Mullin would have the particulars worked out ahead of time. Either that or Dumars just told him to hit up on the swell piece Tuesday if he didn't do anything crazy tomorrow. (Read: this smells like a dead end).

When Joe Dumars put his entire roster on the block, he opened the door for a summer of crazy rumors. First came the Carmelo Anthony rumors, which became so rampant that 'Melo demanded an explanation from Denver's front office. Today's speculation du jour? Baron Davis to Detroit.

Geoff Lepper of the Contra Costa Times got the ball rollling by citing an unnamed source within the Warriors who indicates that the Pistons "are now looking at Davis" and would be willing to offer Chauncey Billups and Rasheed Wallace in return. In order to get the money right, Lepper speculates that Al Harrington, who's already thinking about requesting a trade, would be thrown into the mix.

As Tim Kawakami correctly notes, the Pistons would be getting the short end of the talent stick in a Davis/Harrington for Chauncey/Rasheed swap. Could the Warriors sweeten the pot by throwing in the 14th overall pick? Well, possibly, but this deal can't happen on draft day (read: tomorrow!) since Davis has until July 9 to decide if he's going to opt out of the final year of his contract. So unless the Warriors happen to pick someone the Pistons really like, that's a dead end, too.

In other words, there are simply too many moving parts in this deal to think everything could line up perfectly. Chris McCosky of the Detroit News called this rumor "a total fabrication." I won't go quite that far -- Lepper's source isn't just making things up for fun, right? -- but it's possible Detroit's interest has been exagerrated or distorted, much like their alleged "pursuit" of Anthony.

Keith Olbermann is now the poster boy for left wing political news commentary, via his Countdown show which airs nightly on MSNBC. But it didn't used to be that way. Olbermann spent over 20 years as a sports broadcaster, including five as an anchor on ESPN's SportsCenter. So it was a little surprising when, as they showed Chauncey Billups at the Gore-Obama rally in Michigan last night, Olbermann went flipping through his notes to try to figure out what team Billups plays for.



Here's a hint, Keith: the rally's in Detroit. It's not like Billups has toiled away in obscurity either, the guy has played in the Eastern Conference Finals for the last six years. I guess Keith is much like the rest of us, in that at times, our real job is all-consuming and leaves us little time to pay attention to sports.

[via Awful Announcing, obviously.]

From the pages of this year's edition of "Trade Rumors That Seem To Spring From The Ether And Return As Quickly" comes a lovely bit of speculation regarding Carmelo Anthony. There have been whispers and insinuations for a few days about Melo potentially being traded to Detroit for some set of pieces.

Combine that with Woody Paige and his WACKY ANTICS(!) and you've got yourself a legitimate piece of buzz. Except Paige's proposal, involving, among others, Anthony, Marcus Camby, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince (yes, all of them) doesn't work according to the cap rules. Nor according to logical thought (a far fetched concept in NBA GMs, I know, but we're talking Dumars, here). Not according to Melo's agent. It does not work on a train, it does not work on a plane. It does not work with the freight, it does not work with BAC of .148. It will not work, Woody You Are, it does not work, not by far.

It seems that more and more the trades that involve two teams talking to each other repeatedly almost never fall through. Conversely, big trades that just "spring up" like the Shaquille O'Neal trade or even the Pau Gasol heist are much more effective. But if you're a fan of the "where there's smoke, there's Carmelo Anthony" approach, throw this one on the pile, see if it lights.

... but there's plenty of time to discuss that, with Game 1 waiting 'til Thursday. Let's discuss Boston's clincher, a road win in Detroit.

Near the end of the Lakers' series-clinching Game 5 victory over the Spurs, chants of "We want Boston!" were said to have been heard at Staples Center. With the Spurs scoring under 100 points and a Laker victory in hand, it's possible that the chant was actually "We want tacos!" instead.

Let's go with the assertion though that the fans were calling for a match-up against the Celtics in the NBA Finals. Are they sure they'd rather face Boson than Detroit? Neither the Celtics nor the Pistons would be a dream matchup for the Lakers, considering both teams stress a defensive and physical style of play. But at this point you'd have to think that the Lakers would have a better time defeating the Pistons.

This Celtics team may not have the years of experience playing together this deep into the playoffs, but they're quickly showing that they have no problems winning close games against the league's best. Plus, Boston's strength is their league-leading defense and physical presence on the boards, something the Lakers aren't necessarily built to deal with. And even though Pau Gasol didn't play in either of the two meetings between the teams this season, the Celtics absolutely manhandled the Lakers in those games, winning both easily.

Every now and again there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the L. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.

Kendrick Perkins set the tone early for the Celtics last night: he had 14 boards by halftime, or four more than the entire Detroit roster! He came back to earth over the final two quarters but remained a defensive presence and overall pest, eventually finishing with playoff career-high marks of 18 points and 16 boards. It's not often one of Boston's role players is the difference, but without Perkins, the Celtics don't win this game.

Of course, Perk going off on Detroit is nothing new: he set a regular season career-high back in March by grabbing 20 boards in a game against the Pistons. Sooner or later the Pistons will remember to keep a body on him -- if not in Game 6 on Friday, then perhaps next season.

Also Receiving Votes:
He's baaack! Ray Allen silenced his doubters on Wednesday by scoring 29 points, with over half of them coming off his 5-for-6 performance behind the three-point line.

Chauncey Billups put concerns about his health to rest, as well, by leading the Pistons with 26 points. His shot has been off as he's struggled with both his timing and his nagging hamstring injury, but he turned in a solid 7-for-17 night from the field, going 3-for-7 from long distance and 9-for-9 at the stripe.

In the latest in our continuing series, we look at five things to keep an eye on tonight in the Eastern Conference Finals Game 5 between the Detroit Pistons and the Boston Celtics.

1. Roll Of The McDyess: Antonio McDyess of all freaking people has proved pivotal in this series. The Celtics are supposed to dominate inside with Kevin Garnett and the Perkins/Powe/Davis trifecta, but it's been the Pistons who have been controlling the down low. McDyess is averaging close to 15 points and 11 rebounds, and has come up with huge shots when the Pistons have needed it. The Celtics have to have bigger contributions defensively from their young players to get McDyess back to average.

2. Dual-Sided Mismatch: Sam Cassell is too old to effectively contribute against the Pistons. Chauncey Billups is too injured to effectively contribute against the Celtics. Rajon Rondo is too young to take the reins for too long. Rodney Stuckey is too young to take the reins for too long. This matchup has been fascinating due to the subtle differences between the two point guard combos (as opposed to combo guards). Rondo has terrific defensive acumen but his youth causes him to overplay sometimes, picking up useless fouls and leaving the baseline vulnerable. Stuckey tends to force things offensively and doesn't always allow the system to flow through him like it does through Billups. Whoever takes control of this game tonight, and it's usually Rondo at home, will probably provide the cornerstone for a victory for his team.

All of the home team dominance this postseason ended up providing a lot of background spice for this series, because we assumed that the Celtics would probably win the first two in the New Garden. Then Detroit flat out grabbed the second game and seemed to take control of the series heading back to Detroit.

But you just knew Boston would come out strong after being embarrassed at home. Which they did, taking a 2-1 lead over the Pistons as only Rip Hamilton and Rodney Stuckey really shown for Detroit. Kevin Garnett was dominant again and someone decided to exhume Ray Allen, so we certainly have a series. But the biggest storyline is the "leash" that Chauncey Billups will deal with tonight, as Flip Saunders has made it known he is not scared to pull "Mr. Big" if he can't perform up to standards.

Momentum swings with every quarter and almost every full game in the playoffs, but two things could doom the Pistons tonight: a slow start and, from the obvious department, a loss. Heading back to Boston down 3-1 is not what you could call enviable.

In the latest of our continuing series, we look at Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals, as the Pistons try to even the score against Boston.

1. Comparing leashes. Flip Saunders told reporters Chauncey Billups will be on a shorter leash, which means Rodney Stuckey should see extra playing time. But Stuckey's a rookie, and while he's looked great so far, could a few youthful mistakes ping pong Saunders back to his hobbled vet? Meanwhile, Sam Cassell finally got some minutes (8) but spent them looking pissed off and trigger-happy (5 FGAs, 1 turnover). Paul Pierce seemingly took issue, and you wonder if Doc Rivers will tonight, either by benching the vet or keeping his minutes superlow. What a league, when two 30somethings will be on tight leashes in favor of a rookie and sophomore (Rajon Rondo).

2. Die by the three. Detroit made 1-of-13 threes on Saturday, pitiful by any standard, but especially for a team which shot a swell 37% on 16 attempts for the season. Rasheed Wallace and Rip Hamilton need to make their threes count, in particular, else Boston's Pierce-Allen-House barrage provide a decent cushion.

3. Shattered glass. Both teams have been traditionally able on the defensive glass, but neither team showed it on Saturday. Boston came away with 14 offensive rebounds in 32 opportunities, and Detroit had 10 in 40 chances. Antonio McDyess' got to seal off and handle his business, and there's no reason for Jason Maxiell to only record one rebound in 20 minutes when so many misfires were available.

Two more, after the jump.