Anfernee Simons was traded from the Trail Blazers to the Celtics this past summer.
Anfernee Simons was traded from the Trail Blazers to the Celtics this past summer.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
NEW YORK — Celtics guard Anfernee Simons said Friday he was “in shock” following the arrest of his former coach with the Trail Blazers, Chauncey Billups, over his alleged involvement in illegal gambling operations.
“It hit me pretty tough, for sure,” Simons said.
Billups and former Celtics guard Terry Rozier were among the more than 30 people arrested in a sprawling takedown Thursday. Billups was charged with participating in a Mafia-led conspiracy to fix illegal high-stakes poker games. In a separate case, Rozier is accused of participating in an illegal sports betting scheme using insider information.
Simons played for Billups for four seasons in Portland before being traded to the Celtics this summer. Although Billups’s arrest was related to his alleged involvement in the poker ring, the Justice Department indictment also references a “Co-Conspirator 8” who shared information with another defendant, Eric Earnest, that several Blazers players would sit out a March 24, 2023, game against the Bulls because the team planned to intentionally lose in order to help its chances of getting a higher draft pick.
The indictment states that Earnest shared this information with defendant Marves Fairley for the purpose of betting on the game. The indictment describes Co-Conspirator 8 as an “an NBA player from approximately 1997 through 2014, and an NBA coach since at least 2021.” The description matches Billups, who was drafted in the first round by the Celtics in 1997.
Simons sat out that March 2023 game, which the Blazers lost, 124-96. He was asked Friday if he had ever been instructed to intentionally lose games in Portland.
“Not to my knowledge,” Simons said. “We get told to play. We’re not charged by the minutes, you know what I mean? So you just play until you come out of the game or you don’t play. So, it was really that simple. I don’t think I was told anything in general.”
Simons said he sent a text message to longtime Blazers superstar Damian Lillard, his former teammate in Portland, to see how he and the rest of the team were handling the news.
Billups was placed on immediate leave by the NBA following his arrest, with assistant coach Tiago Splitter taking over as interim coach.
“It’s tough, you know what I mean?” Simons said. “You played one game and your coach is not there no more. You went to training camp and all this stuff and he was the coach and now he’s not anymore. So that could be tough on players dealing with that at the beginning of the season. That’s definitely a tough situation to be in.
“But I’ll gradually check in on everybody and see how they’re doing about the situation and see how they handle it. But I think they’re a pretty resilient team and they’ll get through it regardless.”
Simons said he also is praying for Billups and his family while he awaits more information.
“I’ve got a great relationship with Chauncey,” Simons said. “Even after the trade [to Boston], he’s checking in on me and I’m checking in on him. So we had a great relationship and I think, like I said before, it’s an unfortunate situation for him to be in, especially for him and his family, all the media attention that’s coming in, the scrutiny. It’s just an unfortunate situation.”
Celtics forward Jaylen Brown, an NBA Players Association vice president and a former teammate of Rozier’s, said Friday he needed more information about the situations before sharing his full view, but added that the union would conduct its own investigation.
“Obviously, if those guys are innocent, it’s not a great look for them publicly and media-wise, so we’ve got to make sure if they are, if they’re exonerated, then their images are cleaned up,” Brown said. “But I think right now, just kind of getting all the information and getting to the bottom of it is the most important thing.”
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.