\n
*********************************************<\/p>\n
Dear Young Chaunce,<\/p>\n
We\u2019re not coming back to L.A.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re not coming back to L.A.<\/em><\/p>\nWe\u2019re. Not. Coming. Back. To. L.A.<\/em><\/p>\nIt\u2019s June 8, 2004, about 11 p.m. in Los Angeles. You\u2019ve just lost the most important game of your 28-year-old life. And you\u2019re about to walk onto the Detroit Pistons team bus.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re going to leave Staples Center on that bus. You\u2019re going to hop on a plane. And sometime early in the morning, hours from now, you\u2019re going to arrive at home \u2014 tied with the Lakers, one game apiece, in the NBA Finals. Yeah, those Lakers: Shaq. Kobe. Payton. Malone. The Zen Master. The three-time, dynasty-building, world-beating champs.<\/p>\n
But we\u2019ll get to that later. Right now, we\u2019ve gotta focus on this bus \u2014 this bus full of teammates, of brothers, of Deee-troit Baaa-sketball<\/em>. This bus full of guys who are coming off the most brutal loss of their lives, just like you. And they need you.<\/p>\nThey need their point guard.<\/p>\n
They need you to calmly, sternly tell Coach Brown \u2014 bless him \u2014 to miss everyone with that Philly talk. To not even let him finish when he starts in, dejectedly, on, \u201cWhen this happened last time.\u201d To just cut him off (with love), and tell him, point blank: \u201cDon\u2019t care, L.B.\u201d To make sure he understands \u2014 the whole team understands \u2014 that no one should care, at all, about what happened to the Sixers in \u201801. And that, when Coach Brown says, \u201clast time\u201d \u2014 nah. Nah.<\/em> There was no last time.<\/p>\nThis is y\u2019all\u2019s first time. And this ain\u2019t Philly.<\/p>\n
This is Detroit.<\/p>\n
\n
![\"AP_04061501173\"](\"http:\/\/www.theplayerstribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/AP_04061501173.jpg\" "\\"Michael")
<\/p>\n
PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHAEL CONROY \/AP IMAGES<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Or it will be in a few hours, anyway. But right now, like I said, it\u2019s only a bus leaving Staples Center \u2014 and you\u2019ve just gotten on it. And I need you to walk to the back of it \u2014 where everyone can see you, can hear you \u2014 and I need you to look at your team. I need you to look at all of them \u2014 at Ben, at Rip, at Tay, at Sheed \u2014 and wait until you have their attention.<\/p>\n
And then I need you to say it.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re not coming back to L.A.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re not coming back to L.A.<\/em><\/p>\nWe\u2019re. Not. Coming. Back. To. L.A.<\/em><\/p>\nYes. Good. Just like that.<\/p>\n
And then, listen, Chaunce: I need you to sit down. I need you to put some music on. Enjoy what\u2019s left of the bus ride. Get a little sleep on that flight. Go home.<\/p>\n
Stay home.<\/p>\n
And win a fucking championship.<\/p>\n
\n
![\"AP_97100302846\"](\"http:\/\/www.theplayerstribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/AP_97100302846.jpg\" "\\"AP")
<\/p>\n
PHOTOGRAPH BY AP IMAGES<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
But first thing\u2019s first. Let\u2019s back up a little.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s back up to before you\u2019re a Piston, or a leader, or a winner, or a Big Shot \u2014 before any of that.<\/p>\n
You know what? Let\u2019s back up to before you\u2019re even a point guard.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s back up a full six-and-a-half years. To when you\u2019re a 21-year-old, in Boston, with a bad haircut and a rookie contract.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s back up to \u2026 now. When you\u2019re reading this.<\/p>\n
In 1997.<\/p>\n
Why \u201997? Well \u2014 I have some bad news, my dude.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re getting traded.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
I know, Chaunce. I know.<\/p>\n
Everyone agrees \u2014 it\u2019s messed up. You\u2019re just a rookie, and not just any rookie: A few months ago, you were the third overall pick in the NBA Draft. Third overall.<\/em> Third overall picks don\u2019t get traded midseason. It doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\nExcept, it does.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s funny \u2014 for the rest of your career, people are going to imagine\u00a0that you had this terrible relationship with Coach Pitino. But the truth is, the two of you will get along pretty well. And I\u2019ll tell you what: When the trade happens, Coach Pitino will \u2014 if nothing else \u2014 be honest with you. He\u2019ll at least be that.<\/p>\n
(This is already better than you\u2019ll get from some GMs.)<\/p>\n
Coach will take you aside, and tell you that there\u2019s a lot of pressure on him to make the playoffs \u2014 even in his first year with the team. He\u2019ll tell you that, in order to contend, he feels like the team needed a veteran point guard. He\u2019ll tell you that he\u2019s always been a fan of Kenny Anderson\u2019s \u2014 I don\u2019t know, I guess the whole New York thing. He\u2019ll tell you that he still feels you\u2019re going to be a great player \u2014 but that, with the pressure on him, and the current roster, he\u2019s gotta do what he\u2019s gotta do.<\/p>\n
Finding out about that trade will be a complete shock. No warning, no nothing. You\u2019re going to feel hurt, and betrayed, and confused. You\u2019re going to feel a lot of things \u2014 none of \u2019em good.<\/p>\n
But here\u2019s my advice: Just don\u2019t be embarrassed.<\/p>\n
\n
You\u2019re going to feel hurt, and betrayed, and confused. You\u2019re going to feel a lot of things \u2014 none of \u2019em good.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
I know that doesn\u2019t sound like much. And I know, I know \u2014 it\u2019s easier said than done. But that\u2019s the way you\u2019re going to get through this, Chauncey: by remembering that you get to playbasketball<\/em> \u2026 for a living.<\/em><\/p>\nAnd then holding your head up high.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re going to get through this, simply put, by not being embarrassed. <\/em>And by understanding that you have nothing, and I mean nothing, to be embarrassed about.<\/p>\nOh, and here\u2019s what else I can tell you:<\/p>\n
That trade will be a blessing in disguise. It\u2019s not going to seem like one at the time \u2014 actually, to be honest, it\u2019s not going to seem like one for a very long time.<\/p>\n
But I promise: It will be a blessing.<\/p>\n
You just have to stay patient.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
In the meanwhile, though \u2026 Chaunce, I won\u2019t sugarcoat it: it\u2019s going to be tough.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s going to be you, on your own, in the basketball wilderness. Boston to Toronto \u2026 Toronto to Denver.<\/p>\n
\u201cStud prospect\u201d to \u201cjourneyman\u201d in less than two years.<\/p>\n
Or that will be the perception, anyhow.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s crazy how misperceptions get started.<\/p>\n
But in a league that\u2019s covered 24\/7, with rabid fan-bases and evolving media: Perception is always going to be an interesting thing. In the NBA, everything needs a story attached to it \u2014 a rumor, a label, a whatever. I know that sucks, in moments like this. I wish I had some advice for you on it. But it\u2019s one of those things that you\u2019re simply going to have to accept and move on from. Perception is going to bite you a few times, Chaunce. That\u2019s just real.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll give you an example.<\/p>\n
In Denver, you\u2019re going to play for Coach Mike D\u2019Antoni. This will be Coach D before those Phoenix years, before \u201cSeven Seconds or Less,\u201d before all of his accolades \u2014 but he\u2019s still going to be that\u00a0same experimenter, that same\u00a0thinker, that same outside-the-box type of guy. Y\u2019all are going to have Nick Van Exel \u2014 a veteran, and a really good player still \u2014 entrenched at the point on that team.<\/p>\n
But Coach D will have an idea.<\/p>\n
He\u2019ll say, \u201cYou know what, screw it \u2014 I\u2019m just starting my two best guards, period. I don\u2019t care what positions: The one, the two, it doesn\u2019t matter. I want the guys who can play to play.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n
Perception is going to bite you a few times, Chaunce. That\u2019s just real.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
And you\u2019ll take him up on that offer.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll fight like hell, you\u2019ll adapt, and pretty soon you\u2019ll be starting on that Nuggets team \u2014 in the backcourt, at shooting guard, opposite Nick. You\u2019re going to be incredibly proud of yourself for that, Chaunce. And between us: You should be. It\u2019s going to take a lot of guts to make those adjustments as a young player, and a lot of talent. When you make that first start at shooting guard, it\u2019ll be a big accomplishment. But here\u2019s the crazy thing about it: That accomplishment is going to dog you for years.<\/p>\n
I can already hear you \u2014 reading this and thinking to yourself: What do you mean, \u201cdog me\u201d \u2014 I thought you said it\u2019s an accomplishment?<\/em><\/p>\nLike I said, Chaunce, this league is all about perception. And as bizarre as it is to say: No one around the league is going to care about the adjustments you made, or the versatility you showed, or the skill set you displayed, that made your coach want to start you at shooting guard. No. What people will focus on is this: Chauncey isn\u2019t a point guard.<\/em><\/p>\nThey\u2019ll see the trade for Kenny Anderson in Boston. They\u2019ll see the short stint and the second trade in Toronto. They\u2019ll see \u201cChauncey Billups, Shooting Guard\u201d in Denver. You probably won\u2019t even hear it; it\u2019ll just be a whisper. You see they moved Chauncey off the ball? Yeah, he tried, but he\u2019s not a point.<\/em>And sometimes a whisper is all it takes to manufacture reality. It\u2019s crazy, I know. But that\u2019s the league.<\/p>\nChauncey isn\u2019t a point guard.<\/em> That\u2019s what they\u2019ll say.<\/p>\nThey\u2019ll be wrong.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
The other thing that\u2019s going to be tough about Denver is that it\u2019s home. When you arrive, of course, people are going to make a big deal out of it. You\u2019re the best basketball player in Colorado history, probably, so for you to land with the Nuggets is going to be big news on a local level. They\u2019ll write things like, Hometown savior<\/em>, or, This is the change of scenery that Chauncey Billups needs<\/em>.<\/p>\nBut in reality, playing at home as a 23-year-old professional is going to be less blessing and more curse. (There\u2019s perception, again, for you.) It\u2019s as simple as this: You\u2019re just not going to be ready for Denver to be Your City. You\u2019re going to think you\u2019re ready \u2014 and they are too \u2014 but, trust me, you won\u2019t be. You\u2019re still going to be so young. You\u2019re still going to be hanging out with your boys, doing your old thing. There are going to be those \u2026 hometown distractions. And those distractions will add up.<\/p>\n
And you have to understand, Chaunce: It\u2019s not just that you made it. It\u2019s that your whole neighborhood<\/em>is going to feel like they made it. All of Park Hill<\/em>\u00a0is going to feel like they made it. And don\u2019t get me wrong \u2014 that\u2019s special. But at the wrong age, it can also be tough. It can be a lot to handle. And you\u2019re going to be at that wrong age. You\u2019re not going to be mature enough yet, or developed enough yet, to take on that mix of environments, those responsibilities, that role.<\/p>\nYou\u2019re not going to be ready to lead.<\/p>\n
PHOTOGRAPH BY ANDRES LEIGHTON\/AP IMAGES<\/div>\n
During\u00a0your next stop, in Orlando \u2026 you\u2019re not even going to be ready to play. A shoulder problem will keep you out for the rest of that season.\u00a0Three trades, four\u00a0teams\u00a0\u2014 and, now, one injury.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s when it\u2019s going to hit you.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s going to hit you hard, like bricks, and stop you dead in your tracks. When it first enters your mind, you\u2019re going to want to dismiss it. You\u2019re going to want to think, Nah, I\u2019m 24, that can\u2019t be right<\/em>. You\u2019re going to try to ignore it, to push it away.<\/p>\nBut at some point, during that offseason, you\u2019re going to let it hit you.<\/p>\n
Good.<\/p>\n
You need that.<\/p>\n
In fact: Why don\u2019t you go look in the mirror, right now, and say it out loud. Go ahead, Chaunce \u2014 say it:<\/p>\n
This could be your last chance.<\/em><\/p>\nPlease internalize that, Chauncey. Please internalize it, and accept it, and grasp the urgency of your situation. And choose your next team wisely.<\/p>\n
Choose Kevin.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
That\u2019s right \u2014 your old buddy Kevin Garnett. He and you go way back, all the way to high school.<\/p>\n
Well, the end of high school. For most of your childhoods, you\u2019d only heard about each other: always neck-and-neck on the same prospect lists, the same class rankings. But you\u2019d never actually met. Then, finally, senior year, you were named to the same McDonald\u2019s All-American Team \u2014 for that \u201895 game in St. Louis. (You, Garnett and Pierce, all on one team \u2014 not bad for high school, right?)<\/p>\n
As luck would have it, after the game, your flight and Kevin\u2019s flight both got delayed. And so you ended up with some time to kill at the airport, just the two of you.<\/p>\n
And man \u2026 you guys just \u2026 got to talking. And talking. And talking. Probably two, three hours, you guys spent in that airport. Just a pair of 17-year-old kids: chatting, joking around, asking each other stuff \u2014 you know, cutting through the bullshit. About hoops. About life. About the big decisions that you both had upcoming.<\/p>\n
That was the first time you really got to have a heart-to-heart with someone who was on your level as an athlete \u2014 and who was going through the same growing pains that you were, both as a person and as a kind of celebrity. When your flights finally arrived, the two of you exchanged info and went your separate directions. But that conversation \u2026 in this strange way \u2026 meant everything<\/em>.<\/p>\nAnd Kevin became a friend for life.<\/p>\n
And so, with your career hanging in the balance, now, Chauncey \u2014 it\u2019s time to align yourself with the people in this world you can actually trust. It\u2019s time to go play with your best friend in the league. It\u2019s time do your thing, and work your tail off.<\/p>\n
And see what happens.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
Don\u2019t worry, you\u2019ll have help.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll have Sam Mitchell, a.k.a. \u201cUnc,\u201d and he\u2019s going to be invaluable in teaching you what it means to be a pro. Those little adjustments, those little maturations \u2014 those subtle lessons that you didn\u2019t even know you hadn\u2019t learned? That\u2019s Sam. That\u2019s Unc.<\/p>\n
Ninety-nine percent of communication is nonverbal, Chaunce. This, Chaunce, is how you dress like a professional. This is how you act on the road, Chaunce; this is how you act at home.<\/em><\/p>\nThat\u2019s that old head, cool uncle, Sam Mitchell knowledge. And you\u2019ll never forget it.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll have Flip Saunders \u2014 and, listen: That\u2019s probably a whole other letter. But all I\u2019ll say, for now, is this: Chauncey, respect that man. And cherish him. As coaches go \u2026 he\u2019ll be one of the good ones. And as people go \u2026 he\u2019ll be one of the great ones.<\/p>\n
(But don\u2019t waste a big goodbye on him in Minnesota. You\u2019ll meet him again later.)<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
And then, finally: you\u2019ll have Terrell Brandon.<\/p>\n
Terrell will be a star point guard, in his prime, when you arrive in Minnesota \u2014 which means that you\u2019re not going to start at the one right away.<\/p>\n
But this isn\u2019t about \u201cright away,\u201d Chauncey. Not anymore.<\/p>\n
No, this is about building a foundation, now, and earning yourself a career. You want to be a point guard, Chaunce? Then be a backup<\/em> point guard. Start at the two-spot when they need you, sure \u2014 but don\u2019t shy away from the word \u201cbackup,\u201d either. Embrace it. Learn from the star vet. Learn from Terrell. And then build something of your own from scratch.<\/p>\nBuild the best Chauncey Billups possible.<\/p>\n
You couldn\u2019t have a better mentor than Terrell \u2014 so make sure you soak it all in. Pay attention to how smart he is, how diligent and patient. Pay attention to his midrange game: a lost art among point guards \u2014 and the sort of skill that could come in handy, during a playoff game or two down the road. Pay attention to his court vision, and the thought he puts into each of his passes \u2014 never flashy, always purposeful. Chauncey: Soak in all of that<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n
If your first season with the T-Wolves is going to be Terrell Brandon University, then your second season is going to be the final exam.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
And that\u2019s just the intro class. Those are just the basics, young fella. Get ready for the advanced lessons, as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cChauncey,\u201d Terrell will say, during one of your daily film sessions. \u201cI\u2019m not just the leader of this team \u2014 I\u2019m the guy with the ball<\/em> in my hands. That\u2019s not to be taken lightly. That\u2019s a status, and it comes with responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\nAnd then he\u2019ll break it down for you.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got K.G., who\u2019s our best scorer \u2014 21, 22 per. You\u2019ve got Wally, who\u2019s our second-best scorer \u2014 17, 18 per. If K.G. don\u2019t have 12-to-14 points at halftime, and if Wally don\u2019t have 8 or 9 \u2014 then I\u2019m not doing my job. End of story. There isn\u2019t a moment that goes by during the game where I\u2019m not thinking to myself, What am I doing to fulfill my responsibility as a point guard?<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\nThat\u2019s going to be a very big moment for you, Chaunce. A \u201cwow\u201d moment. Before Terrell, your attitude going into games is going to be unsophisticated at best: Play well, and win the game<\/em>. That\u2019s it. But Terrell is going to put you on this whole other level. Now it\u2019s, When does Kevin want the ball? Where does Wally like to catch it? What specific play do I have to call \u2026 to get this specific guy the ball \u2026 in this specific spot? When, and where, and how, is it best to get mine?<\/em><\/p>\nNow you won\u2019t just be playing hoops.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll be playing point.<\/p>\n
If your first season with the T-Wolves is going to be Terrell Brandon University, then your second season is going to be the final exam. Because that\u2019s when T.B. will go down with a season-ending knee injury \u2026 and you\u2019ll be thrust into the role you\u2019ve been preparing for, working toward, all this time: starting point guard.<\/p>\n
Before we get to that, though: Read this next part carefully, Chaunce. Because it might be the most important lesson in this entire letter.<\/p>\n
A lot of people are going to say that you got your opportunity to start at the point because of Terrell Brandon\u2019s injury. Hell \u2014 in the moment, as it\u2019s happening, you might even think that yourself. But here\u2019s the truth: You got your opportunity because of Terrell Brandon\u2019s generosity<\/em>.<\/p>\nYou\u2019re not going to understand this, yet, I know. You\u2019re too young. But one day you will. One day, when you\u2019re knocking on the door of 40, and looking back on this moment \u2026 you\u2019ll understand. You\u2019ll understand how, most of those stories people hear, you know, about the vet helping the young guy along? They\u2019re myths.<\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
Trust me. 80-percent, 90-percent, damn-near 100-percent of the time: The guy in Terrell Brandon\u2019s position would not root for you to succeed<\/em>. Not for one second. I promise you that.<\/p>\nThe truth is: This league is built on a game \u2014 but it runs as a business. And a lot of guys are real nice, real nice \u2026 right up until the moment where you threaten their spot.<\/p>\n
As soon as Terrell goes down, he\u2019s going to know that you\u2019re a threat. In fact, he\u2019s going to know that better than anyone \u2014 because he\u2019s going to know, better than anyone, what you\u2019re capable of.<\/p>\n
But I\u2019ll tell you what: The first thing he\u2019s going to say to you, when you see him on those crutches after his surgery \u2014 you\u2019ll never forget it. He\u2019s going to walk up to you, put his hand on your shoulder, look you square\u00a0in the eye \u2026 and say, \u201cChaunce. It\u2019s your turn<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\nAnd he won\u2019t stop there. Every time he sees you going forward \u2014 every morning at practice, every afternoon shootaround, every night before tipoff \u2014 he\u2019s going to have those same four words for you. That will be Terrell\u2019s refrain, that whole rest of the season \u2014 and it\u2019s going to help you, more than you can imagine, every time he says it.<\/p>\n
\u201cChaunce. It\u2019s your turn<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cChaunce. It\u2019s your turn<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\u201cChaunce. It\u2019s your turn<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\nOnce Terrell gets injured \u2026 yeah, you\u2019re going to play starting point guard, with or without his blessing. But you\u2019re not going to be<\/em> starting point guard. For that, you need Terrell. And that difference, of having Terrell\u2019s support \u2014 it\u2019s going to mean everything to you.<\/p>\nOh, yeah, and about that final exam?<\/p>\n
You pass \u2014 with flying colors.<\/p>\n