Earlier tonight, the Clippers learned that they will be without guard Chauncey Billups for the remainder of the season after the veteran suffered a torn Achilles' tendon last night against the Magic. Here's a look at the potential fallout from the injury and what's next for Billups..
- With Billups out for the year, Larry Coon of ESPN.com (via Twitter) points out that the Clippers have two trade exceptions: one for $3.831MM and the other for $2.756MM. The exceptions came from dealing Eric Gordon and Al-Farouq Aminu, respectively.
- Despite speculation that Billups might be forced to call it a career after his Achilles injury, the guard says that he still has some "good years left to play," tweets Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com.
- This offseason the Knicks used their amnesty clause on Billups as they feared that he would be a health risk, tweets Marc Berman of the New York Post. The decision to reappropriate that money towards signing Tyson Chandler seems even smarter in hindsight, Berman adds.
- Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com tweets that the Clippers were hearing a noise from fans and media early in the season about trading Mo Williams for a backup big man, but they're glad to have that guard depth now.
- It sounds as though Billups is determined to continue playing beyond this season and Ben Wallace says that he'll talk to his former teammate about his future tonight, tweets Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.