The improving Detroit Pistons, who recently inked power forward Josh Smith to a new contract, have brought back the leader of the 2004 NBA-title winning squad, point guard Chauncey Billups.
Adding Smith to the already powerful frontcourt of Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe will likely have the bigger on-court impact, but Billups is a natural leader, a hero in Detroit, and unafraid to take the biggest shots on any given night.
He spent last season with the Los Angeles Clippers, averaging just eight points and 2.2 assists per game while getting limited time on the court. With Chris Paul in tow and Eric Bledsoe leading the second unit last year, Billups was relegated to a role as a spot-shooting off-guard, which does not suit his style of play, and fails to utilize his leadership.
The Pistons have several young point guards-Rodney Stuckey, Brandon Knight, Louisvill rookie Peyton Siva and Will Bynum that can benefit from learning underneath the veteran Billups.
In his career Mr. Big Shot has been many things. At first he was a petulant scoring point guard, leading the Boston Celtics and Toronto Raptors to give up on him. He played a few seasons for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets before figuring out how to make his teammates better with the Pistons.
Since his Detroit days, his playmaking for others improved, and his ability to come through in the clutch earned the admiration of teammates and opponents alike. He has now become a culture-setter of sorts, looked upon by his teammates as a leader on and off the court.
In 2004, the year Billups and co. shocked the NBA universe by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers duo of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, Billups averaged 16.9 points and 5.7 assists per game. He's a career 39 percent 3-point shooter, so whenever Detroit's big men get doubled in the paint, he and Brandon Knight figure to shoot the lights out.
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