Since 2004 when the Pistons shocked the world by dismantling the three-peat Lakers in five games, Chauncey Billups has been commonly regarded as one of the league's best players.

Of course he has. I mean, surely anyone who wins finals MVP should be considered in that class, right?

I strongly disagree, and I also get annoyed with the silly nickname Mr. Big Shot. It is only his rumored ability to hit shots that has earned him that name, not his actual ability, as anyone who watched this past eastern conference finals will tell you. The public perception of players can be very misleading.

For example, NBA GM's were asked last season, "If the game was on the line and you could choose one person to take the final shot, who would it be?"

The GM's left Carmelo Anthony, who has the best game winning shot percentage of active players out of the contest. They also ignored the second best option, Gilbert Arenas. No, they went with Kobe Bryant to take that shot, despite the fact that he has the lowest percentage of all time.

So what's wrong with Billups? Let's ask ESPN.com's Sports Guy, Bill Simmons, who had this to say during last years playoffs:

"Announcers and studio guys steadfastly continue to call Chauncey Billups "Mr. Big Shot," quite possibly the most undeserved sports nickname of this century. Here's a quick recap of Chauncey's career:

1997-2001: Bounces around from Boston to Toronto to Denver to Orlando to Minnesota.
2002: Plays well enough for the T-Wolves (0-3 in the '02 playoffs) that Detroit gives him a $30 million contract.

2003: Leads a Pistons team that eventually gets swept in the 2003 Eastern finals by New Jersey … and gets destroyed by Jason Kidd in the process. Billups shot 11 for 40 in the series; Kidd averaged 23.5 points, 7.5 assists and 10 rebounds per game. Just pointing out that the "Mr. Big Shot" nickname hadn't kicked in yet.

2004: Shoots 39 percent in the regular season, gets hot in the playoffs, leads the Pistons to the title, makes some big shots along the way, and somehow picks up the name "Mr. Big Shot."

2005: Leads the Pistons to the Finals, makes some big shots along the way, then pulls a relative no-show in Game 7 (13 points, 3 for 8 from the field, no big shots).

2006: During the last three games of the Eastern semis against Cleveland -- which the Pistons nearly blew -- Billups shot 13 for 34. In the six-game loss to Miami in the Eastern finals, he shot 39 percent and 3 for 14 in the deciding game.

2007: Struggled in the Chicago series (39 percent shooting), then completely flopped in the first four games of the Cavs series (22-for-57 shooting, 32 turnovers, some killer mistakes at the end of Games 3 and 4), to the point that people are now openly wondering how much money he's costing himself this summer."

I'm wondering if Billups should be on team USA. He's an inferior player to Deron Williams and Baron Davis, both of which would be a better second string point guard for that team. He doesn't have a real great ability to make that great pass. He doesn't have a high turnover rate, which is good, and he is a decent defender, but uptempo offense and court vision are not things that he is compatible with.

For team USA, not a good fit. For 5 years and $60.5 million, not good at all.

You can email the JackDaddy here at jackhoops@gmail.com