Chris Paul Clippers: Will Chauncey Billups End Up Leaving LaLa Land?

The NBA world is abuzz with the bombshell that Chris Paul has reportedly been traded to the LA Clippers.

It instantly makes the Clippers one of the top tier franchises in the Western Conference and a hot spot for other players to land.

Well, maybe not everybody...

Chauncey Billups was sent packing after the Knicks use their amnesty clause on his $14.2 million contract. That created a bidding war for his services that was out of the former Finals MVP’s control.

The Clippers won the bid for $2 million, and “Mr. Bigshot” was off to LaLa land. Forget the fact he told everybody listening that he wanted to either play for the Miami Heat or his hometown Denver Nuggets.

He was forced to a team on the other side of the country that has been the joke of the league almost his entire career, not exactly an ideal situation for a player with the accolades of a 35-year-old entering his 15th  season in the league.

Vic Lombardi of CBS 4 in Denver believes now that CP3 is on board, Billups may be on his way back to the east coast:

It makes sense. Billups is a natural leader, and needs to play in order to showcase as much. He has been a full-time starter since the turn of the century and having to come off the bench isn’t going to sit very well with Billups. Considering he averaged 16.8 points, 5.4 assists on a toxic Denver team and chaotic Knicks team last season, he is still certainly capable of being a starting point guard in this league.

Too bad the Clippers are in complete control of the situation. ESPN’s John Hollinger believes Billups isn’t going anywhere:

It looks like Hollinger may be right. Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles is reporting that meetings between Billups and head coach Vinny Del Negro went well on Wednesday night and that he plans on reporting to training camp on Thursday morning.

How does Billups really feel? That remains to be seen. For now Billups has to grin and bear it as he watches Paul’s name get called in the starting lineup introductions while he is sitting on the bench watching. It’s a tough pill to swallow and proof that the NBA can be a cruel and unfair world.

So, Billups is a Clipper…for now.