He’s not a classic Mike D’Antoni system guy. Almost the opposite, really. But Chauncey Billups is an elite point guard who can adjust his game (and D’Antoni has adjusted his system a little), a guy who is comfortable on the big stage and under pressure, and in the end that’s what matters. When has played, Billups has brought defense and stability to the Knicks.
The question is, will they bring him back?
It seems a no brainer, but then again so does picking up the extension on Donnie Walsh’s contract, and yet here we are.
The New York Post’s Peter Vecsey reminds us that by June 20 the Knicks need to have picked up the $14.2 million option on Billups for next season, or they can pay $3.75 million as a buyout and let him go into free agency.
Vecsey lists the questions the Knicks have about Billups — that he is 35, that he has missed 5 games already with an injury, that he didn’t want to be included the trade to the Knicks in the first place (Billups is a Denver native).
But as well as Toney Douglas has played the last couple games, do the Knicks really want to trust him for a season? The conventional wisdom is that the Knicks would pick up Billups for next year then in the summer of 2012 go after Chris Paul or other potential free agents. That still makes the most sense.
But this is still James Dolan’s Knicks, so you have to question if what will make sense will happen? Or the opposite?
