Billups to Nugs?

[peter delevett <pdelevett@amcity.com>]

Here's what ESPN is reporting:

"The Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors have a deal on the table that would
return Chauncey
                          Billups to Colorado, but it is contingent on other,
undisclosed moves the Raptors hope to make,
                          according to NBA sources.

                          Both teams have confirmed the talks to Billups'
agent, Andy Miller.

                          "I inquired, and they said that yes, there are
conversations going back and forth regarding
                          Chauncey being traded to Denver, but that nothing,
obviously, is definitive right now," Miller
                          said.

                          "And I don't know what the variables are that need
                          to be carved out in advance of making a decision on
                          Chauncey. I'm not sure whose side needs to have
                          answers or what answers they need. I'm not sure of
                          any of that right now."

                          Neither team was talking, but there were no
                          indications of preconditions on Denver's side. The
                          Nuggets, with roughly $12 million available beneath
                          the salary cap, could absorb Billups' $2.3 million
                          salary and still have room to offer Antonio McDyess
                          a $9 million first-year salary, the maximum
                          allowable under the new NBA labor agreement.

                          The Raptors, by contrast, have only about $1 million
beneath the cap and seem intent on signing a
                          free agent as soon as that becomes permissible,
expected to be Monday. Speculation has centered
                          on small forward Rick Fox, largely because he's one
of two Canadians in the league.

                          But if the Raptors want to sign Fox or anyone else
who commands more than $1 million as a
                          starting salary, they have to free up cap room by
trading someone on their roster. That's where the
                          Nuggets come in.

                          Trading Billups to Denver for a future first-round
draft choice, for example, would give the
                          Raptors an additional $2.3 million under the cap
with which to make an offer to a free agent. Even
                          a starting salary of $3.3 million, however, might
not be enough to get Fox, who is also being
                          actively pursued by the Atlanta Hawks.

                          If Toronto cannot sign the free agent it wants, then
it doesn't need cap room and doesn't
                          necessarily move Billups.

                          The Nuggets, according to sources, would do the deal
without hesitation if it is offered. Billups
                          was the third overall pick in the 1997 NBA draft.
The Nuggets, who had the fifth pick, hoped he
                          would slide to them, but the Boston Celtics took him
two spots earlier. Celtics coach Rick Pitino,
                          after denying for weeks he had any intention of
trading Billups, traded him to Toronto at the
                          deadline last February.

                          But Billups, who starred for two seasons at the
University of Colorado before entering the draft,
                          has expressed reservations about returning to his
hometown at this point, citing pressure to
                          perform and the fact it would mean he had been on
three teams in his first two years in the league.

                          "We've had conversations about it," Miller said. "I
think this is all coming at him pretty quickly.
                          We've had conversations in the past about coming
home to Denver, and in those conversations we
                          talked about him doing it at the end of his career.
So I think the fact that all this was thrown at him
                          at one time, and very quickly, has hit him in a
strange sort of way. I don't think he has
                          apprehension about coming back to Denver, I think
that in his own mind-set he always was going
                          to come back to Denver, that was always his
intention. It was just a matter of when, and I think it
                          just takes some time to digest, that's all."

                          The Nuggets like Billups as a player and person.
They also like the way he would fit in their
                          emerging new backcourt. Billups has the ballhandling
skills to play point guard and the size and
                          shooting ability to play shooting guard.

                          Along with Nick Van Exel and Bryant Stith, he would
give the Nuggets a three-guard rotation and
                          allow new coach Mike D'Antoni to spot in second-year
guard Bobby Jackson."


Interesting that Fox is also part of this picture. Celtic karma ...
Personally, I believe that if Denver acquires Billups they'll move Van Ex
and/or Jackson. Stith is brittle but is a team fixture and leader. 

By the way, and for whatever it's worth, here's how Chauncey's 1997-98 season went:

G	MIN		FG%		FT%		3PA	PCT		ST		TO		PF		REB		AST		PTS
80	27.7	37.4	85.0	325	32.9	1.3		2.2		2.2		2.4		3.9		11.2

Just to be a prick, here's how Kenny's numbers compared:

G	MIN		FG%		FT%		3PA	PCT		ST		TO		PF		REB		AST		PTS
61	30.5	39.8	78.9	160	35.6	1.4		2.3		2.2		2.8		5.7		12.2