New York Knicks: Should Chauncey Billups Return Next Season?
"
Should I stay or should I go now?
Should I stay or should I go now?
If I go there will be trouble,
An' if I stay it will be double
So come on and let me know!
Should I stay or should I go?
-The Clash, Should I Stay or Should I Go?, 1981
"
This is the question the New York Knicks will have to answer at some point this summer. Do they exercise their team option on point guard Chauncey Billups, whom for all his clutch shooting and veteran leadership has spent more time in the trainer's room and in a suit than he has on the court since his arrival?
Or do they let the erstwhile veteran depart, which would leave Toney Douglas as the only point guard under contract in an offseason where the free agent and draft pickings are slim?
Billups is slated to make $14.2 million next season. Seems like a steep price tag for a player on the downside of his career. Yes, Billups is still an excellent defender and clutch shooter. But he is slowing down, and while his skills may still be intact, his penchant for leg injuries since donning the orange and blue seems like an ominous sign to me.
Remember, Chauncey Billups never wanted to leave Denver, and when rumors of a possible trade were brought up to he and his agent Andy Miller earlier this season, they made their intentions clear: “If any of these rumors were to come to fruition, Chauncey and I would definitely want to maintain our flexibility and explore our free agency as soon as possible.”
Who would the Knicks bring in to replace Billups? As I said, the 2011 class of free agents leaves much to be desired. Andre Miller is arguably the best pure point guard available, but he also is on the wrong side of 30 and the Portland Trail Blazers will likely look to re-sign him, with no real alternatives on their roster (backup Patty Mills is also a free agent).
After Miller, you are left with mediocre players such as T.J. Ford of the Indiana Pacers, Carlos Arroyo of the Boston Celtics, Mario Chalmers of the Miami Heat and Sebastian Telfair of the Minnesota Timberwolves.
If you're willing to settle for a player who is really a shooting guard playing out of position, then you can choose from the likes of Rodney Stuckey of the Detroit Pistons, Leandro Barbosa of the Toronto Raptors and Sasha Vujacic of the New Jersey Nets.
Or, do the Knicks look to fill the void via the draft? A rarity, I know, but they do possess a first round pick this season, one that will be in the mid-to-late teens. With the top PG prospects likely to be off the board by the time the Knicks pick, they'd be choosing from among guys like Boston College's Reggie Jefferson, Kansas's Josh Selby, Michigan's Darius Morris and Butler's Shelvin Mack.
None of these options really excite me. Keeping Billups in the fold and hoping his health holds up over the course of the season and throughout the playoffs seems like the team's best option, with an eye towards the much ballyhooed free agent class of 2012, which includes All-Star point guards Derron Williams and Chris Paul.
Let the debate begin.
