Portland Trail Blazers assistant coach Tiago Splitter will serve as the team’s interim coach after head coach Chauncey Billups was placed on leave following accusations of involvement in a federal gambling investigation.
Billups, 49, was arrested Thursday in Oregon on charges related to an illegal poker operation tied to the Mafia, according to ABC News. He is expected to make an initial court appearance Thursday in Oregon. The NBA announced he was “placed on immediate leave” from coaching the Trail Blazers.
In turn, the Trail Blazers named Splitter as its interim coach, reports ESPN’s Shams Charania. He is in his first season with Portland after previously serving as an assistant for the Brooklyn Nets (2019-23) and Houston Rockets (2023-24). Most recently, he served as head coach for Paris Basketball, where he won two league championships last season, per Charania.
Prior to coaching, Splitter played seven seasons in the NBA from 2010-17, including five with the San Antonio Spurs, where he won the NBA Finals in 2014. He also played one season for the Atlanta Hawks and his final season for the Philadelphia 76ers.
More details on Billups’ arrest were not immediately available. He coached the Trail Blazers in its season-opening 118-114 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday.
Also on Thursday, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was arrested by the FBI on separate charges related to illegal sports gambling.
Rozier was arrested on “two indictments involving illegal gambling schemes,” the Department of Justice said in a news release, per the Sun Sentinel. He has been under federal investigation for more than a year as part of an inquiry related to unusual betting patterns in a 2023 game while he played for the Charlotte Hornets.
Rozier, like Billups, was also placed on leave immediately, the NBA announced.
“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today,” the NBA said 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.”
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