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Shams gives 6-12 month time frame for Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups FBI cases
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- Shams gives 6-12 month time frame for Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups FBI cases
The post Shams gives 6-12 month time frame for Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups FBI cases appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The NBA has enjoyed an exciting start to the 2025-26 campaign, especially as far as the prime-time matchups are concerned, but a shocking FBI investigation is casting a dark cloud over the product. Two indictments were brought forth on Thursday morning, resulting in the arrests of more than 30 people. Among those charged are Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier . Both men made bail and are contesting the accusations .
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The FBI alleges that Billups was involved in a rigged poker-game scheme that was orchestrated by the mafia. He is said to have acted as a "face card," a prominent figure whose celebrity status is designed to draw more players to the table. Those who were cheated out of their money via technological means did not suspect that Billups or former NBA guard and Cleveland Cavaliers assistant coach Damon Jones were purportedly knowing perpetrators.
Rozier's charges center around sports gambling, for which he was previously investigated by the NBA (on Charlotte Hornets at the time). The indictment claims that the former first-round draft pick informed childhood friend and former Minnesota and Kentucky linebacker De'Niro Laster that he would remove himself from a game in March of 2023 under the guise of injury. The information was then allegedly relayed to bettors. Rozier handed his phone to the NBA for further inspection and was ultimately allowed to move forward without undergoing any disciplinary action.
The FBI clearly feels it has collected compelling evidence against him more than two and a half years later. Both Billups and Rozier issued statements declaring their innocence. They are seemingly prepared to go to battle, one that is expected to take quite a long time .
"It will come down to what more information can the FBI gather," ESPN insider Shams Charania said on "Inside the NBA." Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier will fight this, in what I'm being told will be at least a 6 to 12-month process."
Damon Jones is named in both indictments (an individual with Billups' career description is named as a co-conspirator in the sports betting case as well) and members and associates of several crime families were also taken into custody, but the two active NBA figures are the ones who will likely garner the most exposure in the media.
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The idea that a Hall of Famer-turned-head coach like Billups and a current player in Rozier could be corrupt is deeply unsettling . If they are proven guilty, the league's image may be irreparably tarnished. Though, just as Charania said, a whole year could pass before we learn of their fates. They are on leave for the time being, with former San Antonio Spurs big man Tiago Splitter serving as Trail Blazers interim HC.
The respective legal teams of Billups and Rozier will get to work on preparing a defense.
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Related: Charles Barkley sounds off on alleged Terry Rozier, Chauncey Billups betting scandal
