Phonz for Chauncey? One Denver reporter likes it...

[Chris Littlefield <chris@mjr.com>]

Ellis, Billups deserve better for marriages

                        By Mark Kiszla
                        Denver Post Sports Columnist

                        Nov. 13 - Denver's two best-loved basketball stars
are stuck in bad sports marriages.

                        LaPhonso Ellis and Chauncey Billups deserve better
than this lousy excuse for an athletic life.

                        After giving body and soul to the Nuggets for five
years, the relationship between Ellis and his
                        team has been reduced to broken dreams and thrown
chairs.

                        Not five months after being the third selection in
the NBA draft, Billups has his new Range Rover
                        and a big-screen TV, but not the love or respect of
Boston Celtics coach Rick Pitino.

                        As the Celtics beat the winless Denver Nuggets
96-86 Wednesday night, Ellis and Billups wasted
                        their sweat for two of the sorriest franchises in
the league.

                        Whether it's five years or five months, a bad
marriage feels like a trap. Ellis and Billups both need
                        to get out.

                        Although Ellis recovered remarkably fast from an
Achilles tendoninjury to score nine points in his
                        1997 debut against Boston, it would be a much
bigger miracle if he ever finds happiness in
                        Nuggets uniform.

                        It's pointless to assign blame for the Denver
forward's recent chair-flinging tantrum upon learning
                        he would start the season on the injured list. It
was just another indication Ellis and the Nuggets
                        don't see things the same way.

                        Although Billups is as "Smooth'' as advertised on
his favorite tattoo, adapting to Pitino's
                        helter-skelter style has been hell for the rookie.

                        It's not his fault. Billups was miscast as Boston's
point guard. And Pitino knows it. From Golden
                        State's Joe Smith to Phoenix's Steve Nash to
Philadelphia's Jerry Stackhouse, the Celtics have
                        been listening to offers for Billups.

                        Which makes you wonder . . .

                        Could Ellis and Billups be the answer to each
other's prayers?

                        With Billups on the trading block and Ellis on his
way out of Denver, why wouldn't the Nuggets
                        and Celtics discuss a trade involving two players
in desperate need of a scenery change?

                        Recently, Denver vice president Allan Bristow
wisely refused to part with rookie point guard
                        Bobby Jackson when Boston was shopping Billups
around the country. But why let the
                        discussion die there?

                        Billups, whose role in the NBA will ultimately be
as a swing guard, could join Bryant Stith and
                        Jackson to give Denver a three-guard rotation with
some scoring punch.

                        Ellis, destined to become a free agent if the
Nuggets don't move him by the league's February
                        trade deadline, could give Pitino a powerful
forward combination with Antoine Walker.

                        To be sure, there's a problematic disparity between
the salaries of Ellis ($3.65 million) and Billups
                        ($2.38 million). But every team, including Boston,
has an Andrew DeClercq ($1.2 million), or
                        some other stiff sitting on its bench, for the
express purpose of overcoming salary-cap obstacles in
                        completing trades.

                        Why wouldn't a Nuggets team left wanting for talent
and ticket sales pursue Billups? It would
                        seem to be a natural fit.

                        "Yeah, you'd be interested in somebody like
Billups,'' Nuggets coach Bill Hanzlik said on the eve
                        of his team's current four-

                        game Eastern road trip. "But, to tell the truth, I
don't know how you could make anything work.''

                        Of course, imagination has been rare for Denver's
new basketball brain trust - which might explain
                        why the Nuggets didn't trade Antonio McDyess prior
to the draft, when his marketability was
                        highest, or make a push to obtain all-star Shawn
Kemp last summer until it was far too late to make
                        a serious bid.

                        More interested in reducing payroll for the long
term than filling the Denver roster with talent in the
                        present, it's probably safe to assume the Nuggets
would let Ellis walk away for nothing before
                        they would trade him to Boston.

                        And, in the case of Billups, coming back home to
Denver sounds like too much of a dream to ever
                        come true.

                        Too bad.

                        If Ellis and Billups must go their separate ways to
find their separate peace, it will be Denver's
                        loss.