CIRCA ’04 ALL OVER AGAIN FOR BILLUPS AND HAMILTON?

Aside from the big possibility of Carmelo Anthony finally landing in the Garden State, one thing that has caught the interest of cage pundits is the possible reunion of the starting backcourt tandem of the 2004 NBA champs Detroit Pistons in Chauncey Billups and Rip Hamilton. Anthony, Billups and Hamilton would look like a poor man’s version of the Miami Heat celebrated trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. But it does not mean that they will be less formidable. Even without fanfare, the projected New Jersey Nets troika will be a solid and blue-collar type. If ever the three-team (others in the mix are the Denver Nuggets and the Pistons) blockbuster deal becomes a reality then glory days would definitely be back again in the other side of the Hudson River. The Nets were once the perennial powerhouse squad in the old American Basketball Association (ABA). 15 players are said to be included in the Anthony deal, according to ESPN.

“The New Jersey Nets' attempts to acquire Denver's Carmelo Anthony are "further along" than any trade scenario that has been discussed since their near-acquisition of Anthony in late September, according to sources close to the negotiations. A three-team deal involving the Detroit Pistons that would include at least 15 players -- with Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups winding up in New Jersey with Anthony -- could be completed as soon as this week, sources said.

“The primary elements of the scenario currently on the table, sources said, call for New Jersey to acquire Anthony, Billups and Hamilton; Denver to land Devin Harris, Derrick Favors, Anthony Morrow and at least two first-round picks; and Detroit to acquire Troy Murphy and Johan Petro.”