Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier have been placed on immediate leave following their arrests as part of federal investigation related to illegal sports betting and fraudulent poker games backed by the Mafia.
“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today,” said the NBA in a statement. “Terry Rozier and Chauncey Billups are being placed on immediate leave from their teams, and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities. We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
Billups has been head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers since 2021 and was on the sidelines for their regular season opener on Wednesday against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Billups signed a multiyear contract extension in April.
The Blazers have yet to name an interim head coach. Last offseason, Portland overhauled their coaching staff by hiring Tiago Splitter, Patrick St. Andrews and Quinton Crawford. The Blazers let go of Roy Rogers and Chris Fleming.
Rozier is on a $26.6 million expiring contract and hasn’t been in the long-term plans of the Miami Heat regardless of his alleged involvement in a gambling scandal. Rozier averaged 10.6 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 25.9 minutes over 64 games last season.