Good for Chauncey, but ...

I'm sure many other Detroit Pistons fans can relate to the bittersweet emotions I felt last night as I watched Chauncey Billups torch the Hornets for 36 points, leading his team to a blowout victory in Game 1 of the NBA Playoffs.

Mr. Big Shot was undeniably the best player on the floor, knocking down eight of his nine 3s and controlling the tempo from start to finish. Better than Chris Paul. Far better than teammate Carmelo Anthony. Smooth as silk.

Only he was wearing the wrong shade of blue.

Isn't it still hard to come to grips with that out-of-nowhere trade orchestrated by Pistons GM Joe Dumars in November? You know, the one that sent the seemingly over-the-hill Billups to Denver for that egotistical punk who wouldn't know the meaning of team basketball if it were tattooed directly onto his skull, Allen Iverson.

I hear all the noise about creating salary cap space -- and yada yada yada. To me, though, that's just unnecessary chess-game maneuvering when the simple move was to keep all the pieces in place.

What ever happened to the here and now? Was it really implausible to picture the Pistons back in the Conference Finals, led by Chauncey, perhaps driven by more late-May urgency than they exhibited during the past three seasons?

Not at all. Even with no big roster moves, the Pistons were still among the top four contenders in an improved Eastern Conference. And remember: Chauncey is still only 32. He's no Jason Kidd, writing the last chapter of his career. He's more like Kobe: A star who still has a lot of life and a lot of wins left in him. The most valuable player on one of the NBA's five elite teams.

And all the Pistons can do is feel good for him. He, more than anyone else, made them who are -- or, more accurately, who they were. While Ben Wallace gave the Pistons their toughness, it was Chauncey who delivered the swagger. He made them such a close-knit and trusting team. He instilled the confidence that brought them to the Eastern Conference Finals for six straight years. He also had a unique relationship with the city of Detroit. He went out of his way to relate to and look out for the people there. They still revere him the way they revered Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars when they played.

I wonder how Dumars feels about the trade now. Clearly the AI experiment was more catastrophic than he could have feared. Have Chauncey's accomplishments in Denver, then, caused Joe D to second-guess his deal?

I sure would hope so. I can't label this managerial decision as his worst (see Milicic, Darko), but it's definitely a close second.

And meanwhile, Mr. Big Shot flourishes. It's a beautiful thing. Shortly after the trade, with Detroit Free Press columnist Michael Rosenberg, Chauncey talked about being sucker-punched by reality:

“After my last trade, when I got traded from Denver to Orlando (in 2000), I vowed to never let my hands down and get caught like that again. That was two or three times already in my young career. I vowed to never put my hands down, to get comfortable again.

“I allowed myself to do that again. And I think it was because of what we’d done there, man … the team, the success we had, me signing a long-term deal. I allowed myself to say, ‘Damn, I think I’m done. I think I’m here. I think it’s over.’ I’m kicking myself for letting my guard down.”

Now Dumars has to be kicking himself for doubting the colossal heart of a true champion.