After the shock and disbelief wore off, after the words arrest and fraud and “Co-Conspirator 8” dissipated, a familiar refrain no doubt flooded the minds of Portland Trail Blazers fans everywhere.
Here we go again.
A franchise that has endured more than its share of bad news in the 21st century was dealt another sobering blow Thursday, when Chauncey Billups was arrested by federal agents for allegedly laundering money and committing wire fraud conspiracy as part of a yearslong poker scheme. The Blazers’ coach, who blossomed into an unwavering and stable presence during the team’s multiyear roster rebuild, has been placed on immediate leave by the NBA.
It’s fair to wonder if he’ll ever coach again.
“We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today … and we will continue to cooperate with the relevant authorities,” the NBA said Thursday, via a statement. “We take these allegations with the utmost seriousness, and the integrity of our game remains our top priority.”
Oh, how quickly everything changes. Just when the Blazers finally had a little positive mojo, just when it looked like the agony of the rebuild was entering the next, promising phase, the rock of the franchise was implicated in a made-for-Hollywood scheme and arrested at approximately 5 a.m. from his home in Lake Oswego.
It was just the night before, during a fun and inspiring opening-night performance, that Billups and his burgeoning team put on a show against an opponent that reached the Western Conference finals each of the last two seasons.
The Blazers played fast. They played focused. They played relentless defense. And they played hard.
In the end, Portland fumbled away a win down the stretch against the Minnesota Timberwolves, falling 118-114 to a team with championship aspirations. But even in defeat, the Blazers offered legitimate hope.
“Who doesn’t want to watch their players play their hardest basketball?” backup guard Matisse Thybulle said afterward. “We’re picking up full-court every possession. We’re pushing the ball in transition every possession we can. And it feels like, as a fan, you’re getting every dollar’s worth of your tickets, because of the effort that’s being given. There’s always criticism of guys not playing hard and all this stuff, and I just don’t think anyone’s ever going to be able to say that about the Trail Blazers.”
Indeed, it seemed like the franchise was climbing out of the abyss.
Then came the Thursday morning bombshell.
Billups was one of 34 people indicted in two separate cases that covered 11 states and included tens of millions of dollars, according to law enforcement officials. The cases included multiple NBA figures and people outside the league who allegedly have links to the Mafia, including the notorious Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese and Genovese crime families.
Prosecutors say Billups was directly linked to a case involving rigged poker games, during which he allegedly used his celebrity to attract gamblers to play in underground games fixed by criminal conspirators.
Billups was not directly named in the other case, which involved a sports-betting scheme that allegedly featured the dissemination of insider information about multiple NBA games, including a Portland-Chicago matchup in March 2023. But the second case does implicate “Co-Conspirator 8,” who is described as someone who lived in Oregon and served as an “NBA player from approximately 1997 through 2014 and an NBA coach since at least 2021.”
Billups’ Hall of Fame playing career started in 1997, when he was drafted by the Boston Celtics, and ended in 2014, when he retired from the Detroit Pistons. Seven years later, in 2021, he began his coaching career with the LA Clippers.
“My message to the defendants who’ve been rounded up today is this: Your winning streak has ended. Your luck has run out,” Interim U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella said Thursday. “Violating the law is a losing proposition and you can bet on that.”
FBI Director Kash Patel called the sports-betting case an “insider trading saga for the NBA.”
They are only charges and allegations at this point. But no matter the outcome, it’s another debilitating day for a franchise that has taken it on the chin far too many times this century, both on and off the court.
Blazermaniacs have been forced to endure “Shaq-to-Kobe” and Game 7 collapses in Western Conference finals. They’ve had to stomach monumental busts with can’t-miss No. 1 overall draft picks. They’ve had to labor through degenerative knees, free agent defections, too many roster rebuilds to count. Along the way, former owner Paul Allen cycled through general managers like a Bill Walton summer bike ride down the Oregon coast.
And that’s to say nothing of off-the-court malfeasance, which has included everything from yellow Hummers to airport metal detectors to practice sucker-punches.
The franchise spent years evolving from the Jail Blazers into the Frail Blazers.
But perhaps none of the heartache compares to Thursday morning’s stunning development.
On Wednesday night, incoming owner Tom Dundon sat courtside in a baseline seat near the Blazers bench, scrutinizing his newest investment. At some point, he and Billups shared a brief conversation, and after the game the coach was asked what it was like having his future boss in the building.
“It’s awesome,” Billups said. “Obviously, things are going to change around here.”
No one could have predicted just how much.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.