Los Angeles Clippers make surprise Chauncey Billups swoop – NBA Update
The Los Angeles Clippers pulled off a surprise by claiming Chauncey Billups after the player was let go by the New York Knicks. The Knicks used the new amnesty clause to free Billups and the Clippers won an auction for the player’s
rights to get him on their books.
The Knicks needed some cap space in order to complete the signing of centre Tyson Chandler, an NBA World Champion with the Dallas Mavericks last season. The veteran Billups had one of the biggest contracts in New York’s roster
outside of the super star duo of Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, so the Knicks chose him for a waive in order to get the cap space to accommodate Chandler.
They still have to pay the money owed in Billups last year. With the Clippers claiming the veteran point guard for around $2 million, the Knicks now have to pay around $12 million of the $14.2 million they owner Billups.
Billups had been very upset after being waived off by New York and even threatened to retire if his contract was claimed by a team he didn’t want to play for. In that respect it’s a risky move by the Clippers but they said they
couldn’t afford to let go of such a great opportunity.
"Chauncey is a warrior. He's a player. This is a similar situation -- we had this in the best year we had here -- with Sam Cassell. He got traded away from a place he was really comfortable in," Clippers general manager Neil Olshey
said.
Olshey expressed hope that once Chauncey gets to talk to the team management and the players he would find the project at Los Angeles attractive enough to stay with the franchise.
"There's going to be some work to do. I think Chauncey would've liked to control the process, but unfortunately we have to do what's best for our team. I think once he gets here and sees the resources we have, meets the guys and
sees what kind of team we have, hopefully we can do the same thing with him as we were able to do with Sam and Marcus Camby."
The move makes a lot of sense for the Clippers. They are on a roll at the moment after signing free agent Caron Butler to a 3-year contract worth $24 million. An initial attempt by the franchise to snatch New Orleans Hornets star
Chris Paul fell apart but the franchise is hopeful they can revive the deal.
In the circumstances, and given the young core that the Clippers possess, a veteran like Chauncey Billups at point guard could prove invaluable to the team who are in need of some quality leadership. Whether Billups fancies playing
with such a young but talented roster remains to be seen.
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