After some miscommunication, Chauncey Billups and the Detroit Pistons have come to an agreement. ESPN's Ric Bucher reports sources say that Billups has now agreed to multi-year deal with the Pistons, but terms and length of the deal are unknown at this time. On Wednesday, Billups' agent, Andy Miller, refuted a reports that his client had agreed to a contract that could be five years and worth $60 million. "This is a vicious rumor," Miller told The Detroit Free Press. "It's entirely untrue. We have not reached an agreement. I don't know what stage we're at. We're having ongoing discussions, and I don't believe that we're on the verge of signing an agreement anytime today by any stretch of the imagination." On Tuesday, The Associated Press and some Detroit-area media outlets had reported that Billups and the Pistons had agreed to a five-year contract. According to the Associated Press, its source, who requested anonymity because of league rules preventing contract announcements before July 11, said the deal is worth $46 million guaranteed over four years and the fifth year is a team option. Billups had become an unrestricted free agent last month after opting out of the last year of a six-year contract. Joe Dumars, the Pistons' president of basketball operations, said shortly after the team was eliminated from the conference finals by the Cleveland Cavaliers that his top priority was re-signing Billups. The 6-foot-3, 202-pound All-Star said he would prefer to stay with Detroit and expected to be back if the team could match any other team's best offer. Billups, 30, who played with the Celtics, Denver, Orlando and Minnesota in his first four seasons, was selected the NBA Finals MVP in 2004 when Detroit won the championship. He was an All-Star in each of the next two seasons. He averaged 17 points and 7.2 assists in 70 games last season and 14.5 points and 5.3 assists over his nine-year career. But Billups struggled in the playoffs each of the past two seasons, and averaged 15.3 points, 3.5 assists and 3.8 turnovers in the Eastern finals against the Cavs. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2928321 Well, that's one less all-star we have to hear people fantasize about.
Looks like Detroit won out on in that bargaining. Billups's people wanted a contract starting at 12 million, but were offered 10 million. This figure would mean they've settled for 10 million. It also means they now have the salary space to re-sign Amir Johnson. Unlike Darko, Amir is supposed to be one of Morey's target.
How do you figure? Billups wanted $12 million a year and settled on $11.5 million. (46/4 = 11.5) There's still hope for Amir.
I'm guessing it's structured with the 10.5% max yearly raises for own free agents which works out be starting at $10 million.
Disappointing. With Billups getting a lower contract than I thought he would get it does give Detroit good leverage with getting a deal done with Amir. Damn!
