Chauncey Billups saw what happened to the Detroit Pistons and their fans when Ben Wallace left last summer for Chicago.

He wasn't going to put them through it again.

"This is the first city and the first organization to show me love," Billups said Monday. "They've helped me go from a pretty good player to an elite player, and I wasn't going to break their hearts."

Billups spoke before teeing off in his annual charity golf tournament at a joint press conference with Joe Dumars, Detroit's president of basketball operations. It was their first meeting with the media since Billups agreed to a five-year, $60 million contract earlier this month.

"You don't get many great players who are also great guys, and when you do, you don't let them go," Dumars said. "We had to go through the process, but we knew it was imperative that we keep him."

In 1994, the Houston Rockets traded Robert Horry and Matt Bullard to the Detroit Pistons for veteran sharpshooter Sean Elliot. Horry was shocked, Bullard was angry and Elliott was about to flunk a physical because of kidney problems.

When that happened, the trade was rescinded. Everyone got back on a plane, flew home and tried to pretend it never happened.

"It probably saved my career," he said. "I came back knowing that the reason they traded me was for not shooting the basketball enough.

"So once I came back, they were going to have to tell me to stop shooting."

Chris Webber's tenure with the Pistons is far from over.

Although the team's roster sits at 15 players, the maximum heading into the regular season, the words "Webber" and "Pistons" keep popping up in the same sentences.

At his second annual Bada Bling charity event last week in Las Vegas -- which attracted celebrities such as the Pistons' Richard Hamilton, Chauncey Billups, Rasheed Wallace, Tayshaun Prince and Dale Davis, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Carmelo Anthony, rapper Nas and the Isley Brothers -- Slam magazine asked Webber whether he'll re-sign with the Pistons.

"I don't know," he said. "I would love to. Right now, I'm thinking about Detroit and Dallas, so you never know. Watch out for (Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw), though. He's trying to get me in L.A."

Dallas officials said they continue to pursue Chris Webber, and Webber confirmed to Slam Magazine on Thursday that he still has the Mavs on his mind.

At Webber's Bada Bling charity event, the magazine asked him if he planned to re-sign with Detroit.

"I don't know," Webber told the magazine. "I would love to. Right now, I'm thinking about Detroit and Dallas, so you never know."

Second-round draft choice Sammy Mejia signed with the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday.

"Sammy's versatility allows him to play both the guard and small forward positions, and we look forward to watching him grow as a player in our system," Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said in a statement.

Detroit drafted the 24-year-old with the 57th pick of the June draft. The 6-foot-6 Mejia averaged 12.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 123 career games at DePaul, where he earned second-team All-Big East honors as a senior.

The Pistons retained a key member of their bench Monday, signing forward Antonio McDyess to a contract extension.

Financial terms were not disclosed for McDyess, who was entering the final year of his contract. He was set to make $6.3 million in 2007-08.

Restricted free-agent forward Amir Johnson has agreed to re-sign with the Detroit Pistons for an estimated $12 million over three years, NBA front-office sources told ESPN.com on Thursday.

The Pistons have now realized their top two offseason priorities by retaining the promising young Johnson and keeping 2004 NBA Finals MVP Chauncey Billups.

Locking up 20-year-old power forward Amir Johnson, hasn't been nearly as easy for the Pistons as re-signing Chauncey Billups.

Johnson was expected to join the summer league team in Las Vegas on Wednesday afternoon -- an indication a deal was imminent -- but he did not play.

The deal is still not done. The Pistons are believed to have offered a three-year deal worth as much as $10 million. It's possible that Bill Duffy, Johnson's agent, might have had interest from another team, maybe San Antonio. But the Pistons have made it clear they will match any offer.

Chauncey Billups signed a $60 million, five-year contract today with the Detroit Pistons, returning to the team he helped reach five straight conference finals.

The contract is worth $46 million guaranteed over four years and includes a team option for the fifth year.

Pistons president of basketball operations Joe Dumars said he was "very pleased" to have Billups back.

"We said from the beginning that resigning Chauncey was our top priority, and now we can move forward knowing that Chauncey will continue to lead this team," Dumars told The Associated Press on Wednesday afternoon. "One of the toughest positions to fill in this business is the point guard position, and that's why it was imperative that we re-sign Chauncey."

Bobcats executive vice president Bernie Bickerstaff said talks continue with free agent Gerald Wallace, who recently opted out of his contract.

There's "nothing adversarial" about the negotiations, Bickerstaff said. Published reports indicate Dallas, Miami and Detroit might also be interested in Wallace.