Chauncey Billups: Pistons 'Would've Won 3 Championships' with Carmelo Anthony

Chauncey Billups agrees with Carmelo Anthony that the Detroit Pistons could have had a dynasty if they made a better choice in the 2003 NBA draft. 

"If [Detroit] got Melo, we would've won three championships," Billups said Tuesday on Bart & Hahn.

It comes after Anthony projected he would have "two or three rings" if he went to Detroit during an Instagram Live with Dwyane Wade:

Melo was selected by the Denver Nuggets as the third overall pick in the loaded 2003 draft, which also featured LeBron James (No. 1 overall), Chris Bosh (No. 4) and Wade (No. 5) among others. The Pistons took Darko Milicic with the second pick.

Detroit won the NBA title the next year behind Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace, while the same group again went to the finals in 2005, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in seven games.

However, Milicic had a minimal impact on the team, averaging 1.6 points per game across parts of three seasons in Detroit before being traded. He lasted 10 years in the NBA but averaged just 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in his career.

Anthony likely could have provided a lot more help while averaging 21.0 points per game as a rookie and topping 20 points per game in each of his first 14 seasons in the NBA while earning 10 All-Star selections.

Though he might've seen fewer shots early in his career around more veteran players with Detroit, he likely would have helped an organization that had enough talent to reach the Eastern Conference finals in six straight seasons from 2003-08.

Instead, Anthony spent his career with struggling franchises and only twice advanced beyond the first round of the playoffs.

The best postseason showing for the veteran came in 2009 with the Denver Nuggets, when he finally teamed with Billups to reach the Western Conference Finals.