Chauncey Billups is back with the Detroit Pistons and the veteran point guard is ready to win. The Pistons have struggled since their last championship in 2004, but Billups is back in town to fight for another ring.
The 36-year-old plans to end his career in Detroit and he recently opened up about his return after signing a two-year, $5 million contract in June. Billups has moved around the league over the past few years, but his success and experience on the court has led to a very respectable NBA career.
“It was, for one, validation for me because I kept making All-Star teams and making teams better,” he said, according to The Detroit News . “I didn’t want to see the Pistons suffer, but at the same time I wanted people to know why it was what it was.”
His first stint in Detroit ended shortly after he signed a four-year, $46 million deal to remain with the team in July of 2007. A little over a year later, Chauncey Billups was traded to the Denver Nuggets along with two other players for Allen Iverson.
“I think leadership is severely, severely undervalued, and I felt like that being undervalued led them to making the move they made and it cost them,” Billups said about the trade. “I didn’t want to see it cost them like this as a lifetime Piston, but I do want people to know the impact I made on the franchise.”
The unexpected trade didn’t sit too well with the five-time All-Star, but he quickly turned the page and put together one solid season after another. He spent three seasons with the Nuggets before a quick stop with the Knicks. He was claimed off waivers by the Clippers in 2011, but he’s spent the past two years with minimal play time due to injuries .
After it’s all said and done, he’ll end his career with the Pistons and he hopes to bring back a winning attitude in the process.
Do you think Chauncey Billups can help make the Detroit Pistons a contender next season?
[Image via Keith Allison ]
