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**Austin Kent** · 10-04-2006, 01:47 PM

Quote:

All season, there will be whispers and worries.

Next summer, will Pistons point guard Chauncey Billups opt out of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent? If so, will he follow in Ben Wallace's footsteps and leave Detroit for greener pastures?

Answers won't come until July, when Billups can officially make that decision.

And he doesn't think fans should expect much more discussion about the topic until then. He'd rather talk and think about getting the Pistons back to the NBA Finals.

"Right now, my focus is not on my next contract at all," Billups said. "I'm just trying to duplicate what we did last year and get there at the end, as a team. Personally, I never really shoot for those kind of things anyway."

Free Press

STUCKEY! · 10-04-2006, 02:27 PM

Thats what ben said at the beginning of the season...

Goubot · 10-04-2006, 02:46 PM

Yeah, this is the story for almost all star players who are going into free agency in the summer. Wallace did say something along the same lines, but I don't think anyone here predicted that he would become so disgruntled as the year went on. It's basically Billups' team now, and the team is moving towards a style that better suits his talents, so I don't think we'll run into the same kind of problems this summer. That's what I hope, anyway.

**Austin Kent** · 10-04-2006, 03:33 PM

I just want to put it out there right now. If come mid-season we have any reason to believe Billups is even thinking of bolting, we should trade him. Holding on to a core and hoping the aging process passes us over is NOT the way to run a franchise. It seems like Dumars is just waiting for the core to die off before preparing for the future. If we turn into the Maple Leafs of the NBA I'm going to be upset.

**Brian** · 10-05-2006, 05:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lope31

I just want to put it out there right now. If come mid-season we have any reason to believe Billups is even thinking of bolting, we should trade him. Holding on to a core and hoping the aging process passes us over is NOT the way to run a franchise. It seems like Dumars is just waiting for the core to die off before preparing for the future. If we turn into the Maple Leafs of the NBA I'm going to be upset.

I agree and I would add that if Feburary comes and we are a .500 team I would rather see Joe blow the team up then stand pat. This upcoming draft has tons of potential.

JoeD · 10-05-2006, 09:06 AM

I have a bad feeling about it being Billup's team. I could easily be wrong, but he does not strike me as a guy who inspires his teammates. I thought he was at his best in 2005 (rather than 06 mvp hype season) when he kept himself in the role Brown wanted. In the second half of 06, when the MVP hype was really going, incidentally,I thought he was kind of flat. In 06 I don't think he was Mr. Big Shot anymore. He didn't shine when the team needed him. He played harder at points of games when he used to save himself and look more for teammates. He maintains the same level through out the game instead of saving himself for important times and hitting the clutch shots.

I agree that if we are not going anywhere and we are unsure of Chauncey resigning we should trade him. Even if we are sure we can sign him, if he doesn't make us a contender he isn't worth huge, long term money.

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