On Monday, Chauncey Billups officially opted out of his last year under contract with the Detroit Pistons.  Chauncey certainly doesn’t mind playing in Detroit, but like most athletes, he wants to get paid what he is worth.  Actually, he probably wants more.  So what are his best options? 

DIAGNOSING DETROIT
One of the best GMs in the League, Joe Dumars, knows that the Pistons need to rebuild.  This understanding began to forge last year when he had to let Ben Wallace go to the higher bidder.  He had hoped Wallace’s loyalty would bring him back to the Pistons’ offer, but money won out over loyalty again in one of the most lopsided competitions in all of sports. 

If the 2006-07 roster couldn’t get by the up-and-coming Cavs, then more changes need to occur to maintain Detroit’s strong run throughout this decade.  Some shake-ups will be involuntary; as of now Detroit only has eight returning players signed for a total of $42 million.  However, there will be plenty of big decisions to make before next season tips off.

Detroit’s average age among their starting five (Billups, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton and Chris Webber) is one of the oldest in the league.  They combined to average a modest 57.6 ppg.

So what about the depth?  Dumars is committed to returning Nazr Mohammed, Jason Maxiell, Lindsey Hunter and Ronald Dupree.  Mohammed at this point will actually be the starting center if Webber walks.  Flip Murray has exercised his player option to stay with the Pistons.  Carlos Delfino was given to the Raptors earlier this month for a future 2nd round draft pick.  Antonio McDyess recently declared he will exercise his player option to become an unrestricted free agent.  Clearly, Detroit should seriously be looking to add more depth. 

There have already been rumors of the GM shopping Rasheed Wallace and he could conceivably end up in New York, Boston, New Jersey, Charlotte or Philadelphia.  They have promising role players that could develop into starters in Maxiell (24) and Amir Johnson (19), assuming they resign him after one of the best seasons to come out of the NBDL.  They also hold two first round picks, #15 and #27, in this Thursday’s very deep NBA Draft.  Hamilton (29) and Prince (27) don’t look to slow down anytime soon and have the longest deals on the roster, along with Mohammed (29). 

Webber and Dale Davis might seek a return to the Pistons, but if Dumars sticks to what is best for the development of his team, he will not overspend for them. 

CHAUNCEY’S DECISION
Chauncey Billups was the best Piston last year and one of the best point guards in the league, but probably not in the top five.  Does Detroit try and lock him up, thus locking their salary cap for a number of years, or do they attempt the sign-and-trade to bring some younger, cheaper talent onto their roster?

If Chauncey is offered more than 13 million per year for five to six years (Lakers, Grizzlies, Bucks and Hawks should all probably offer), I doubt the Pistons will resign him, sighting similar reasons for letting Big Ben leave last summer when his price jumped.  At the time I felt it was the only decision he had.  Ben Wallace was not worth cumulative salary.  However one that may have cost them another Eastern Conference Championship.  Surely John Paxson and Scott Skiles wished they had kept Tyson Chandler instead after he vastly outplayed Wallace last year while with the Hornets.

So where should Chauncey go this off-season?  Does he wait and see what happens to Rasheed and what they might get in return?  Or does he look for interested contenders elsewhere?  Again, the teams most interested in him should be the Hawks, Lakers, Grizzlies, Clippers and Bucks.  Let’s look at what they have to offer compared to Detroit.

HAWKS
Perhaps the most obvious note of the small-market NBA off-season is the Hawks’ need for a point guard and veteran leadership.  Billups fits both needs and has a long resume to support them.

The former Colorado Buffalo would flourish alongside Joe Johnson, Josh Childress, Josh Smith and Zaza Pachulia.  Their average age is exactly 23, the youngest in the league.  Their PER (overall rating of a player’s per-minute statistical production), calculated by the stats wizard, John Hollinger of ESPN.com, is a combined 71.09 compared to Detroit’s 66.05.  The Hawks Four also averaged nine more points than the Pistions’ other four starters.

Atlanta is apparently under court mandate to not go into the luxury tax, which means to pull this off they would have to do a sign and trade with Dumars.  At the top of their shopping list is adding youth and bodies.  The Hawks are set to bring back Shelden and Marvin Williams, Tyronn Lue, Speedy Claxton, Lorenzen Wright, Anthony Johnson and Salim Stoudamire.  That’s seven contributors off the bench including two top five lottery picks and a handful of veterans.

To make it work, ATL could offer a package of Marvin Williams, Speedy Claxton and Lorenzen Wright.  Detroit gets a young, promising forward, a competent PG, and a veteran C to pair with Mohammed.

Atlanta would get the most attractive solution to their problem as possible and simultaneously open up a forward spot that they should fill with the #3 pick.

LAKERS
With the consistent demands of Kobe Bryant hanging over their heads, the Lakers administration and ownership understands the need for drastic improvement.  Already over the salary cap, they also will all but concede to the fact that they must go beyond the luxury tax for this upcoming season.  By far their biggest need to address is their lack of a point guard.

Chauncey is a proven winner and the type of leader that could assist Phil Jackson and Kobe in mentally developing their young roster.  Billups would essentially be the missing distributor and consistent perimeter threat.  Without trading anybody, L.A. could improve their team drastically with the addition of this season’s top free agent.

Mitch Kupchak has seemingly made it a priority to stay away from signing players who will improve the team but Billups should be a mandatory target.  If Bryant gets his wish of bringing in Jerry West, Billups will be quick to follow.

Billups would automatically make the summer a success but it would be a great off-season if L.A. could also add Grant Hill, Luke Walton, Dikembe Mutumbo, and Jason Kapono.

GRIZZLIES
Before their miserable season last year, the Grizzlies had made three consecutive playoff appearances.  Pau Gasol is a top 3 center in the league and he’s back and healthy.  During Jerry West’s reign in Memphis he surrounded the young Spaniard with promising young talent such as Rudy Gay, Hakim Warrick, and Mike Miller.  However, there simply may not be enough attractive pieces in western Tennessee to attract Billups.

Furthermore, with Damon Stoudamire and promising Kyle Lowry in the mix, point guard is not their biggest concern.  Finding better starters at PF and SG is.  Memphis might try and play Warrick and Gay out of position by making them into a PF and SG combo, but otherwise the starters currently look to be Stromile Swift and Tarence Kinsey.

Memphis might also be interested in a sign-and-trade and they have enough depth to put together a very attractive package.

CLIPPERS
Mike Dunleavy has a lot of veteran talent and the window to win is getting shorter.  The roster is already over the salary cap so Billups would require a sign-and-trade.

Shaun Livingston suffered a devastating knee injury and we can’t expect much of anything from him before the next all-star break.  Sam Cassell still produces quality basketball, but he’s down to 20-25 non-playoff minutes per night. 

With Corey Maggette as the center piece and perhaps one of Dunleavy’s point guards, Joe D. could get a collection of contributions in return.  Elton Brand, Chris Kaman, and the rest of the Clippers would all improve under Billups’ steady guidance. 

BUCKS
Milwaukee is really going out on a limb if they think they have a good chance at landing Billups.  Their starters, aside from Michael Redd, have only proven to be below average NBA regulars.  To make it worse, they show a sincere lack of quality depth.

Milwaukee will almost certainly make a huge offer if Mo Williams goes elsewhere, but Chauncey would be wise to pass it by.

SO WHO GETS HIM?
All-in-all we need to understand that Chauncey has more options out there than just Detroit.  Last summer, many analysts fell into a lack of imagination when observing Ben Wallace’s future.  Chauncey Billups is a better player than Ben and will command similar money.

Wherever he lands, you can count on clutch shots, reliable shooting, All-Star ball-distribution, and more leadership you can’t put a price tag on.  I envision his next years will mimic Sam Cassell’s prime, and Sammy won a whole lot of games. 

I would look for Los Angeles to be his next stop, but wherever he ends up, his new city should certainly look forward to the playoffs.