Joe Dumars is getting the band back together.
A few days after the Pistons brought back Rasheed Wallace as an assistant coach, the team re-signed Chauncey Billups, who reportedly got a two-year deal -- the first season is guaranteed -- for $2.5 million a year.
Dumars confirmed the move to the Associated Press Thursday morning.
Billups, 36, isn't going to have the same role that he had on the 2004 NBA championship team, but he can certainly add some much-needed stability to the point guard position.
Because of a torn Achilles' tendon, Billups has only played 42 games in the past two seasons, playing alongside Chris Paul with the Clippers.
Billups gives a young Detroit team someone who isn't going to be rattled when bringing the ball up the floor in late-game situations, and someone who can mentor Brandon Knight and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope on the art of playing guard.
More important, it's a symbolic apology for one of the worst moves Joe Dumars has made in his tenure as Pistons president. Only Darko Milicic rates above his decision to break up the mid-2000s team by trading Billups to Denver for Allen Iverson.
Even though Iverson was supposed to be only a short-term Piston before leaving to create cap space, the move backfired when he quickly became a locker-room cancer. And the cap space was wasted on Charlie Villanueva and Ben Gordon.
At the same time, Billups flourished in his hometown, leading the Nuggets to a conference finals appearance and helping Carmelo Anthony mature into a superstar.
That apology isn't to Billups, who has been on winning teams since leaving Detroit, but to the fanbase. Iverson was despised by Pistons fans, and the ensuing slide to the bottom of the Eastern Conference has caused attendances to plummet at the Palace.
Billups memorably got a long standing ovation in his first return with Denver, and he has been warmly greeted every time he has come back with the Nuggets and Knicks. His return will certainly be a big step toward bringing back the fans who feel Detroit's decline began on the day Dumars sent "Mr. Big Shot" -- the 2004 NBA Finals MVP -- to the Rocky Mountains.
Don't make the mistake of thinking this is only about sentiment, though. Billups isn't the same player he was 10 years ago, especially after the torn Achilles' -- he really hasn't gotten his jump shot back -- but he's still a smart guard who can pass the ball as well as almost anyone.
He also won't have a problem deferring to Detroit's younger players after spending the past two seasons playing shooting guard in an effective partnership with Paul.
It's not a big contract, but it brings in a veteran who can give the Pistons a push in the right direction, both on and off the court. And it should also be the first step in ending five years of bitterness from the fans who felt betrayed when Billups was traded.
Even Detroit's young players realize what Billups means to the franchise. Upon hearing the news, Andre Drummond tweeted that he will happily give up the No. 1 jersey so Billups can once again wear the number that will probably be retired in his honor.
