Billups&Mercer

[Jo Hironaka <j.hironaka@unesco.org>]

>>Evan LaGasse wrote:
>>1) What does everyone think about the Billups trade? Short term and
long
>>term.

I’ll miss Chauncey because:

1. Not only was he 3 inches and 30 pounds bigger than KA, he also was
having a better rookie year statistically than KA did (or for that
matter Gary Payton, Kevin Johnson etc).
2. He has the sweetest crossover-dribble this side of Tim Hardaway. I
think Chauncey has made it onto "NBA Courtside Countdown" 3 or 4 times
already.
3. He never seemed the slightest bit nervous in big games or in the last
minutes of close games.
4. He talked and walked like a throwback Celtic. Celtics Pride is
important. He was team-spirited, he was articulate without being slick,
he seemed mature, he was the kind of guy you’d want your sister to bring
home for dinner etc.

Obviously, many experts say he can’t play one-guard in the NBA. I’m
definitely not an expert, but my guess is that he can eventually develop
into an All Star and team leader even on a strong NBA team, provided
he’s in the ideal situation (not Pitino-style basketball). IMO, Billups
is definitely not just another Gerald Henderson, BJ Armstrong, Dee
Brown, failed-experiment-at-point-guard-type player.