FWD: Chauncy Billups Happy To Be In Colorado

[wayray@ix.netcom.com (Way Of The Ray)]

                 Billups just happy to be home

                 By Vicki Michaelis
                 Denver Post Sports Writer

                 Nov. 5 - Chauncey Billups did not open the NBA season
                 this week with his Toronto Raptors teammates. If and when
                 the season ever does begin, he might not be with them
                 even then.

                 The Denver Nuggets, league sources have been saying since
                 this summer, would like to trade for Billups, who
                 graduated from George Washington High School and played
                 two years at the University of Colorado.

                 And that would be just fine with him.

                 "Denver's my hometown,'' he said Wednesday, when he
                 joined Nuggets players LaPhonso Ellis, Bobby Jackson and
                 Dean Garrett at a Metro Denver Boys & Girls Club for a
                 basketball clinic and autograph session. "I'm from
                 Denver, and I always watched the Nuggets when I was
                 growing up. So to play for them would be good. But you
                 just never know in this league.''

                 All he knows right now is that the rumor is out there.
                 He's not taking it as truth, just as a compliment. "For
                 anybody in the NBA to want to acquire you after a year -
                 or however many years you've played - it says you're
                 doing a good job and people notice what you're doing. So,
                 every time I see that (rumor printed), I'm really happy
                 and proud of myself that I'm doing well,'' he said.

                 Drafted third overall by Boston, he struggled with the
                 Celtics and was traded midseason. In Toronto, his
                 struggles continued, and he spent many more minutes on
                 the bench as a rookie than he envisioned.

                 "I didn't do half as much as I know I can do,'' said
                 Billups, who averaged 11.2 points, 3.9 assists, 2.2
                 turnovers and 27.7 minutes. "This year I think people are
                 going to see what I really can do.''

                 If the Nuggets were to trade for him - a deal that's
                 likely to hinge on whether the Raptors can make it work
                 under the salary cap - his hometown fans could see it
                 firsthand. He could help restore not only his own
                 confidence but also the Nuggets' image. Another big
                 factor would be the extra time he would get to spend with
                 his 10-month-old daughter, Cydney, who lives in Denver
                 with her mother.

        

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