Did Chauncey Billups Just Get Traded . . . Again?

Boston

Toronto

Denver

Orlando

Minnesota

Detroit

Denver

That's a lot of places to call home for a supposed "elite" player in the NBA.

I use quotation marks because, while there was much gnashing of teeth in many of those cities after Chauncey ended the 2004 NBA season as Finals MVP for the World Champion Detroit Pistons, sizing up Chauncey has never been easy.

Rick Pitino dumped him after three months in Boston.

Billups left Minnesota after two years because neither Kevin McHale nor Flip Saunders could guarantee that Chauncey would start.

Nor did I see much love lost in Detroit this past week.

"Billups, 32, is more of a spot-up jump shooter," said one Detroit beat writer, "while Iverson, 33, is smaller and quicker, known for slashing to the basket and living at the foul line. Billups, however, is better from behind the arc."

Somewhere from an undisclosed location, Siberia perhaps, Flip Saunders did have this to offer: "Chauncey was the glue on that team. He played real man-up defense. I suspect the Pistons will need some time to adjust in playing a different style of ball."

One never scoffs at a Finals MVP, much less a Finals MVP who is dealt for a future HOFer.

At the same time, it sounds to me like the NBA still hasn't reached agreement on the true value of the Boston Celtics number 3 pick in the 1997 Draft.