Raise Your Glass & Tip Your Hat, Cause We Want Our %$#$Π% Point Guard Back!

Do you remember the scene from the movie, Big, when Josh Baskin is spending his first night in Manhattan as a grown man? He rents a room at a dingy hotel and his best friend, Billy, comes to the city from the suburbs to hang out with him for the day. Ultimately, night sets in and Billy has to leave Josh all alone and afraid in the big city. Josh pleads with him to stay, but when all is said and done, he gets left behind. Well, this is exactly how Pistons fans are feeling right now: afraid to get left behind.

Unless you have been living under a rock this season, you have probably heard that Chauncey Billups has the option to become a free agent at season’s end. With the limited number of quality point guards available in the NBA, rumors are bouncing around like Ben Wallace free throws about where Chauncey will end up after this season.

Purportedly, there are a number of teams interested in making a monumental offer for Billups in the off-season, most notably the Bucks, Grizzlies, and Magic with whispers from the Clippers and Nuggets looming as well. Other speculators suspect that Billups will get the marquee, monster contract from the Pistons only to be used as trade bait next season. Alternatively, the Pistons could take a gamble, let him go, and look for a quality point guard in the draft. None of these outcomes are good solutions. Chauncey is a Piston and we want it to stay that way.

The scariest part of the whole situation is that Chauncey Billups seems quite open to the possibility of leaving Detroit. His agent has mentioned publicly that Billups is open to consider offers from other teams. Fortunately, Joe Dumars sounds earnest, as he has expressed his commitment to re-sign Billups. The question mark that looms, is Joe D. prepared to fight for him? He wanted to keep Wallace last year as well, but look what happened there.

Well Chauncey, this is our rallying cry. You are the driver of this bus and we do not want to lose you. This is still a “sum of its parts” team and we cannot let this allegorical automobile fall apart.

Without further ado, the Detroit blog mafia has united to pay tribute and ask Mr. Big Shot to come back, further illustrating one of the key factors of this decision: Detroit fans rule.

Need 4 Sheed: “Chauncey is the conductor of the orchestra that Joe D. built. With Chauncey at the helm the Pistons are a symphony without they are just another song.”

Motoring: “I first saw Chauncey Billups play in January of 1997, then a sophomore for the Colorado Buffaloes. I remember that game fondly because it was a 4:00 pm tip, and I was getting ready to go to church at 6:00 pm. Competing against Roy Williams’ top-ranked, undefeated squad (19-0), Billups rose to the occasion in front of a national television audience that day. Playing a Jayhawks squad that included future NBA stars Paul Pierce, Raef LaFrentz, Jacque Vaughn, and Scot Pollard, Chauncey scored 23 points, nailing six triples in the process, almost single-handedly bringing the Buffs to an upset win in Boulder. In a barnburner that was close all afternoon, Kansas’ depth overwhelmed the Colorado effort at games’ end, and the Jayhawks escaped with a 77-68 win.

The commentators on the broadcast indicated that Billups would likely enter the NBA draft after his sophomore season. The thing that impressed me the most about Chauncey’s game was the ability to create his own shot off the dribble. He did that all afternoon against Kansas, and I told myself right then and there that his game would translate beautifully in the pros. While it took him a while to find the right situation, the all-star point guard has made the most of his opportunity by taking Motown by storm. The hope here is that he remembers that his time in Detroit has been career-changing, and that he would be sorely missed by fans and teammates alike if he exits stage left.”

The Hardcourt: “As we all know, this year could be Chauncey Billups’s last post-season run as a Piston. Let’s take a look back at all the NBA Playoffs in the past years with Billups on the team. If only we had a memoir song to play in the background.

In 2003, the Pistons went back to the NBA Playoffs, and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals. Along the way they beat Orlando in seven games and Philadelphia in six games. However, the New Jersey Nets swept them in the conference finals.

The following year, in 2004, the Pistons would go all the way. Detroit had picked up forward Rasheed Wallace from Portland, and was having a great year. In the NBA Finals, the Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers, four games to one. Chauncey Billups was named Finals MVP.

2005 would be another great year for Billups and the Pistons. Detroit finished the regular season with a 64-18 record. Again, the Pistons made it to the NBA Finals, and played against the San Antonio Spurs. However, the Spurs defeated the Pistons in seven games.

Last season, the Pistons had another good year. However, their year was ended by the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Heat would go on to win the NBA Championship.

Over these past five years, Chauncey Billups has done his part to turn the city of Detroit into a basketball town, not just a hockey town. He has made many more people love to watch the Pistons play than when the Pistons were an NBA laughing stock. But more important that any of that, Chauncey Billups brought the first NBA title to Detroit since the days of Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars did it with the Bad Boys.

Hopefully Billups chooses to stay in Detroit. I think that the experiences he’s had so far will keep him with the Pistons for years to come.”

The Wayne Fontes Experience: "The Pistons have to re-up with Billups, a near max deal be damned. Without Billups, they may just as well start the rebuilding process. Billups is that important to the Pistons. Keep him, and they are still contenders. Let him walk, and the Pistons become a huge question mark. I hope this coming playoff run is not the last for Chauncey Billups as a Piston."

Stan Gable: "Personally, I fear the Cavs will make a serious overture aimed in Chauncey's direction. And even worse I fear he might listen. If we thought Ben Wallace signing with the Bulls was the first sign of our mini-dynasty crumbling, then the thought of Chauncey signing with the Cavs would be the Apocalypse.

Chauncey, we know that the money might be better elsewhere, but this can be a win-win situation. You stay with Detroit and you do something for the game and sports in general; show everyone that players do still love their teams and feel united with their communities of fans. For your part of the deal, get me your agent. Here’s the plan. You stay put in Detroit and then we drum up a big PR campaign about how you responded to all of the fans by remaining in Detroit, while passing up colossal salary offers. In turn, we’ll line you up with some big ad campaigns. “Hi, this is Chauncey Billups, and just like me, Elmer’s Glue holds things together when you need it. Elmer’s Glue, it sticks around!"

Whatever happens, we sure hope to see #1 back in Detroit next season and for many more to come. There are so many fond memories of Chauncey's heroics in the playoffs. The most vivid image that comes to mind was the epic Game 5 against the Nets in 2004, where Chauncey drained a near half court shot to send the game into double overtime. The Pistons would lose that game, but not that series. And we all know how that season ended.

Mr. Big Shot is a part of Detroit. He helped to build the vision Joe Dumars had when he was constructing this team. How could we possibly live without hearing that classic Mason intro..."Chauncey Ba-Ba-Ba-Billups" every night? He belongs in Detroit. And now that we cleared that up, let’s go win another NBA title.