Source: ESPN NBA
How the Blazers, NBA are grappling with Chauncey Billups’ arrest – ESPNSkip to main contentSkip to navigation<>‘I didn’t even know he was a gambler’: How the Blazers and NBA are grappling with Chauncey Billups’ stunning downfallPortland Trail Blazers4dRamona ShelburneHoop Collective Q&A: What are the next steps in the NBA’s gambling investigations?Miami Heat5dTim Bontemps and Brian WindhorstRisers and fallers: Trade for Jaylen Brown, trade away Austin Reaves3dSteve AlexanderplayHow are the Trail Blazers dealing with Chauncey Billups’ absence? (1:09)Ramona Shelburne explains how Chauncey Billups’ leave is impacting the Trail Blazers. (1:09)Ramona ShelburneOct 30, 2025, 07:00 AM ETCloseSenior writer for ESPN.comSpent seven years at the Los Angeles Daily NewsFollow on XEmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFOR A FEWhours last Thursday, it was a relatively normal morning forJrue Holidayand hisPortland Trail Blazersteammates.Most of them had turned their phones off hoping to sleep in after a late-nightseason-opening lossto theMinnesota Timberwolves. The biggest issue Holiday faced was whether his kids would let him sleep past 8 a.m.But when morning came and he checked his phone, he knew nothing about this season was going to be normal again. For any of them.His coach, Chauncey Billups, the Hall of Fame player who had been guiding Portland through its rebuild the past five seasons, was in federal custody. Billups had beenarrested by the FBIin a predawn raid in connection with a federal probe into rigged poker games and was implicated in a separate probe into illegal gambling on NBA games.The news was everywhere.Holiday didn’t have a long history with Billups, but he thought he knew his coach well enough.Two years ago, after Holiday had beentraded to Portlandfrom theMilwaukee Bucksin a blockbuster deal forDamian Lillard, Billups had called to tell him that he would love to have Holiday as a veteran leader on the team as it began its rebuild. But he also wanted to know where Holiday’s head and heart were, too. Holiday had won a championship with the Bucks in 2021 and at 33, was still a deeply impactful player.Holiday told Billups he preferred to be on a contending team, and the Blazers worked with him and his representatives tofind a trade(ultimately to theBoston Celtics) that worked for both sides. The Blazers got back promising young centerRobert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round draft picks. The Celtics got Holiday, who proved critical to their championship run in 2024.”Chauncey really did me a solid the first time I was traded here, just being able to see things through my lens and ask me what I wanted,” Holiday told ESPN. “Not many coaches would do that. But he understood because he was also a player in this league.”This summer, circumstances had changed. The Celtics were looking to shed salary and retool, while superstar forwardJayson Tatumwas out with atorn Achilles’ tendon. And the Blazers were looking to add veterans such as Holiday, …
Published: 2025-11-02T13:28:41
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