We all know CB is stinking it up in the Cavs series, however he played very well against the Bulls and the Magic.

If he continues to struggle in the ECF, advance to the Finals, in spite of his poor play, will it influence some GM`s to think about offering him max money?

I say yes.

Absolutely. A max contract player should be someone capable of making positive things happen for himself or the team when things are not going as planned. You gotta to be a player who can pull a rabbit out of a hat. CB keeps giving the same interviews after every game i.e. we know what we gotta do, I need to play better etc., but the results speak for themselves. He has got to step it up for the rest of the playoffs, if he can't shoot he can always limit the TO's, get to the charity stripe and dish out to his team mates.

C-Bill has a recent history of performing badly against the Cadavers.

I think he shot about 35% against them during this past regular season and did not do particularly well in last year's playoffs against them.

Every starting player has teams that they do better against and teams that they do worse against. The reasons are many, from player personnel to coaches to karma?.

In any case it appears that the Pistons are going to have to figure out how to win this series without C-Bill lighting it. Of course one never knows about these things.

If the Pistons get past the Cavs, and BupBup is the finals MVP against the Spurs or Jazz, then he gets his max contract... otherwise, no.

It should. He is playing terrible. If he and rip were playing just average, the pistons would be 3 and 0.

In contract negotiations, it's awfully tough to forget about the recent past so, yes, it affects it.

Not really. I believe the difference will be negligible.

There aren't too many available point guards with his impressive resume. If he goes on to win another championship, then yes, I suppose it would give him more bargaining power, but I believe he's already shown that he is a clutch performer in most circumstances.

So in my opinion, it may affect it slightly, but he's going to get paid either way.

Some goober who thinks they're just 1 piece from contending will throw money at billups...if only to make joe pay max dollars to keep him. I think even if a few GM's lower billups' value, there are enough guys who will still toss money out there. It really only takes one. What I am interested in is if Joe D is lowering Billups value in his mind.

C-note has gotten on my bad side. The only time he takes risks are at the end of the game. He's going to be even slower by next year. If we don't win the 'ship, we need to rebuild. Rip and Chauncey are close. If one goes, so does the other-- odds are, 'Sheed'll go too if Chauncey doesn't resign.

I just don't feel easy about Giving Billups his contract that he has coming due. First off it won't be a max deal that would mean 5 years and about $85 mill (not a chance in hell); but he's got to make more than Rip this season. He's actually DUE a 5 year deal that starts at $12 mill/year. As guys get older they're more injury prone, a 35 year old Billups on the books would make me queezy......Boston has a greater need for a PG than the 5th pick, so tell me if this makes sense. Billups & our 15th pick for Ratliffs expiring contract and the 5th pick (Noah). Two reasons for this deal (1) Don't have a huge deal on the books (2) keep Noah out of Chicago, his style fits too well with their style of play. We still have 1st rd pick left over, solid veterans in Sheed, Rip, Tay, and Dyess. A good youth base in Max, AJ, Acker, Delfino, and Noah. We could try and move Nazr for a PG, Draft a PG, spend the MLE on a PG and we still have Flip Murray who could possibly be the next Billups (it's a long shot, but what if Flip is that next player that Joe found with something to prove if given the time on the court?????). I mean Billups would actually have to agree to the move, but........wwho knows.

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"Ain't nothin' strange 'bout yo daddy, what's strange is what he had to deal wit'!!!!!" - Rev. AL.