Chauncey Billups Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Clippers Looking To Replace The Injured Billups

February 9th, 2012 at 6:21pm CST by Jesse Blanchard

Eric Pincus of Hoopsworld.com reports the Los Angeles Clippers are looking to replaced injured guard Chauncey Billups, who is out for the season with a torn achilles tendon.

"Billups, more so than point guard Chris Paul, has that crucial championship experience that the Clippers will need as they head into what could be an unprecedented postseason run. The Clippers will be able to replace Chauncey’s production, to an extent, throughout the regular season but having an NBA Finals MVP on the floor in the closing moments of vital playoff games?

That’s tough to overcome."

Combo guard Mo Williams and Randy Foye should be able to replace the 15 points and four assists Billups was contributing per night. And while Billups' veteran leadership will be missed on the court, Chris Paul is an old hand at leading teams through tough situations.

Billups' injury doe little to change the Clippers priorities. With the acquisition of Kenyon Martin to shore up the frontcourt, the Clippers most glaring need was athletic size on the wings where veterans Caron Butler and Ryan Gomes are the onlyl swingmen with ideal size, if not athleticism.

J.R. Smith should return from China soon, and remains an intriguing option as firepower off the bench, though he may command more than the minimum contract the Clippers can offer.

The Clippers are also armed with a $3.93MM and $2.85MM trade exception remaining from the Chris Paul trade, though their lack of a first round pick in this draft might leave options limited. With the team built around Paul and Blake Griffin, however, this depth is more luxury than necessity this first season.

Odds & Ends: Dampier, Lin, Weems, Heat, Varejao

February 9th, 2012 at 4:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Let's take a look at a few links from around the league as we await tonight's renewal of the Lakers/Celtics rivalry in Boston….

In a blog entry for NBA.com, Scott Howard-Cooper discusses Seattle's push for an NBA team, the Warriors' potential trade options, and Chauncey Billups' future.
Hawks coach Larry Drew conceded to Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Erick Dampier isn't in great shape (Twitter link). Atlanta signed Dampier to a 10-day contract to add frontcourt depth.
As Jeremy Lin dominates headlines in New York, teams that could've signed and kept him look back on a missed opportunity. Donnie Nelson talked about the Mavericks' failed attempt to sign Lin (Dallas Morning News link), while Houston GM Daryl Morey tweeted that he should have held on to Lin when he was a Rocket.
Sonny Weems won't be returning to the NBA this season, his agent tells Sportando.
Talking to Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald, Oscar Robertson said the Heat need a center who can consistently record 12 points and 10 boards if they're going to win championships. With respect to the Hall-of-Famer, I think the Heat are talented enough to win a title without a strong presence in the middle.
The Cavaliers won't actively place Anderson Varejao on the trade market, since they likely wouldn't get fair value for him, writes Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio.

Odds & Ends: Billups, Alston, Prince, Mavs

February 8th, 2012 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

On this day seven years ago, Smush Parker was waived by the Suns, and it looked like his NBA career may be nearing an end. Parker bounced back though, signing with the Lakers and starting nearly every game for Los Angeles in 2005/06 and '06/07. Parker has been out of the NBA since 2008, but he's still playing professional basketball, having signed today with Venezuelan team Guaros de Lara (hat tip to Sportando). Here are a few more of today's odds and ends…

Following his season-ending achilles injury, Chauncey Billups told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times that he'd like to return to the Clippers next season to take care of "unfinished business."
Rafer Alston, who recently signed with the NBA's D-League, spoke to Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv about his comeback attempt. Alston on the possibility of playing for his hometown Knicks: "If it happens, trust me, I’ll be like a kid in a candy story. I’ll feel like I won the lottery if I get an chance to play at home."
Tayshaun Prince has no regrets about signing a long-term deal to stay with the Pistons, says Terry Foster of the Detroit News.
Don't expect the Grizzlies to sign or trade for anyone in the next few weeks, says Ronald Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal, noting that the team still needs to get below the tax line.
Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News would be surprised to see the Mavericks make a move at the trade deadline, but says they'll have plenty of money to spend this summer.
Greg Stiemsma, whose contract was guaranteed yesterday by the Celtics, has taken an unusual road to Boston, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe.
Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel explains the Heat's decisions on players with non-guaranteed contracts.

Clippers Notes: Billups, Trade Exceptions, Williams

February 7th, 2012 at 9:05pm CST by Zachary Links

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.

Chauncey Billups Out For Season

February 7th, 2012 at 6:29pm CST by Zachary Links

6:29pm: Billups told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter) that he plans to continue playing.

5:03pm: Clippers guard Chauncey Billups will miss the remainder of the season with a torn left Achilles’ tendon, coach Vinny Del Negro told T.J. Simers of the Los Angeles Times (report by Mike James). While history isn't on the 35-year-old's side, it's premature to assume that this will mark the end of his career, a source close to the guard told Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

The guard suffered the injury midway through the fourth quarter of last night's overtime victory against the Magic. Billups had been starting in the backcourt alongside Chris Paul, averaging 15.0 PPG and 4.0 APG.

The 15-7 Clippers will promote Randy Foye to the starting two-guard spot in place of Billups, tweets J. Michael Falgoust of USA Today. General Manager Neil Olshey & Co. will likely explore outside help and could ramp up their pursuit of J.R. Smith, who will soon return to the NBA after a stint in China. Clippers officials may also take a short drive to check out Gilbert Arenas' open workout later this week or look to the trade market where guards such as Anthony Morrow could be made available.

As Luke Adams outlined earlier today, the Clippers won't be able to use their disabled player exception to replace Billups. The new CBA only allows teams to apply for the exception between July 1st and January 15th, regardless of when the injury occurs.

Chauncey Billups & The Disabled Player Exception

February 7th, 2012 at 1:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The Clippers appeared to suffer a huge blow last night when Chauncey Billups went down with what could be a serious achilles injury. We're still waiting for the official word on Billups' status, but it looks like the injury may prematurely end his season. Unfortunately for the Clippers, even if Billups were ruled out for the season, the team can't take advantage of the NBA's disabled player rule to replace him on their roster.

The disabled player exception is one of many salary cap exceptions included in the CBA to allow teams over the cap to acquire players. If a player suffers a season-ending injury, his team can apply for an exception worth 50% of his salary or the amount of the nontaxpayer mid-level exception (whichever is lesser). If the league approves the exception, it can be used in the next 45 days to make an acquisition via trade or free agency.

According to Larry Coon, CBA expert and author of the CBA FAQ, the league's new Collective Bargaining Agreement allows teams to apply for a disabled player exception between July 1st and January 15th each season, regardless of when the injury occurred. As such, teams who suffer season-ending injuries from here on out won't have the chance to acquire a cap exception to replace the sidelined player this season.

In Billups' case, such an exception would have had minimal value anyway — the Clippers are only paying about $2MM of the point guard's salary after the Knicks amnestied him, so an exception would only have been worth $1MM or so. Still, considering the team just used its mini mid-level to sign Kenyon Martin and still has interest in J.R. Smith, every bit of flexibility would help.

Odds & Ends: Lin, Billups, Williams, Kaman

February 6th, 2012 at 11:16pm CST by Daniel Seco

Lakers star Kobe Bryant eclipsed former teammate Shaquille O'Neal as the fifth all-time leading scorer in NBA history as he put up 28 points in a 95-90 loss to the 76ers. Personal records aside, Kobe's main focus remains on securing a sixth championship ring which is becoming increasingly difficult as the Lakers dropped to 14-11 on the season, with nine of those losses coming on the road. Let's take a look around the league on what was a busy Monday night for the NBA.

Jeremy Lin scored 28 points in his first start for the Knicks this evening in a 99-88 victory over the Utah Jazz. Lin, 23, wouldn't have even received this opportunity if Baron Davis' recovery had stayed on track, tweets NBA.com's Scott Howard-Cooper. With his strong performances of late, Lin is nearly assured of his contract becoming guaranteed on Friday.
Isiah Thomas' career came to an end thanks to an Achilles injury against Orlando back in 1994, says Pistons beat writer Vincent Goodwill (via Twitter). A similar fate may hold true for Chauncey Billups who left Monday's game against the Magic in the fourth quarter with what may be a left Achilles tear.
If Billups' injury turns out to be as severe as predicted, Clippers GM Neil Olshey should be commended for his decision to not shop Mo Williams even when his team's roster was overloaded with point guards.
Jimmy Smith of The Times-Picayune describes the Hornets' decision to return Chris Kaman to the active roster as a way to build a highlight-reel in order to improve trade offers. In his first game back with the Hornets, Kaman, 29, scored 10 points, grabbed 12 rebounds and made two blocks in a 100-92 loss to the Kings.

Amnesty Clause Victims: Where Are They Now?

February 6th, 2012 at 10:09pm CST by Daniel Seco

Prior to the start of the 2011/2012 NBA season, the league ratified a new CBA under which teams could rid themselves of a bad player contract. The amnesty clause allows for teams to waive one player's contract and not have it count against the cap nor pay any luxury tax on that salary. According to the CBA, the amnesty clause may be used one time on a player signed prior to the 2011/2012 season. Teams were not forced to use the clause before the start of the current season as the proverbial "get out of jail free" card remains in play through the 2015/2016 campaign.

Let's check in and see where the players who were amnestied back in December are now:

Baron Davis: The former UCLA star was amnestied by the Cavaliers, acquired by the Knicks and has not played yet this season due to injury.
Chauncey Billups: After being sent to New York in the Carmelo Anthony trade, Billups was later amnestied by the Knicks, acquired by the Clippers and is currently averaging 14.8 PPG and 4.1 APG.
Charlie Bell: Bell is currently playing in the Lega Basket Serie A with the Pepsi Caserta after being amnestied by the Warriors.
James Posey: The former Heat small forward was amnestied by the Pacers and is currently a free agent.
Gilbert Arenas: Hibachi was amnestied by the Magic and will be hosting an open workout in Los Angeles later this week with hopes of securing an NBA contract.
Travis Outlaw: The former Starkville High School graduate was amnestied by the Nets, later acquired by the Kings where he is averaging 3.1 PPG and 1.5 RPG in limited minutes.
Brandon Roy: With injuries making his contract an untenable situation for the Trail Blazers, Portland amnestied Roy, leading to his retirement.