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Chauncey Billups was back in court Wednesday, along with multiple other defendants, for a status hearing in the federal case against an alleged poker-rigging scheme -- or Operation Royal Flush, as the Department of Justice announced in October. Billups, who was alleged to be a "face card" in the scheme, a well-known person used to attract players to rigged games, pleaded not guilty in November. On Wednesday, as he returned to court for an update on the case, his former backcourt-mate with the Detroit Pistons, Richard Hamilton, voiced his full support for Billups. "Chauncey's in a good place. We always have his back. Spoke to him multiple times," Hamilton told BetFTW and USA TODAY Sports. "So we're here to support him, but this ain't Chauncey. I know Chaunc. This ain't him. So, hopefully everything works out and everybody in the world realizes that Chauncey's one of the better people in this world."
Sean Highkin: The judge in the poker case involving Chauncey Billups said during today's hearing that the proposed start date for the trial is November 2. Prosecutors say they're in the process of offering plea agreements to many of the defendants. Next status hearing is scheduled for June 11.
Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier will return to court this week in Brooklyn as they and more than 30 other people indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice appear in front of federal judges for updates on their cases. Billups, a Basketball Hall of Famer, and Rozier, a Miami Heat guard, have seen their cases move slowly toward trials as their lawyers and federal prosecutors trade legal filings and discovery.
Billups' only words that day were his plea on the charges against him. His attorney, Marc Mukasey, offered no comment when entering and exiting the courthouse. It will be a long time before anyone fully knows how Billups allegedly became involved in this scandal and the extent to which he was. It's a process that could take years. In the courtroom, the judge put a protective order on the evidence in the case disseminated to attorneys -- which prosecutors say includes a terabyte of bank records, surveillance photos and other electronic data -- and said he hoped a trial could begin in September.
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Ron Naclerio was one of the people who appeared in court in November to show support for a man he met nearly three decades earlier. The legendary coach of Benjamin Cardozo High in Queens first met Billups when he was a star point guard coming out of Colorado and trained him for the 1997 NBA draft. "He saw me, we hugged, and I said, 'I know you're going through hell, but just keep going,'" Naclerio told ESPN. "Then his lawyer came over to me and thanked me for showing up." As Billups and his family exited the courtroom, throngs of cameras and people followed as Billups went to post his $5 million bail. "It was overwhelming," Naclerio said. "I mean, it's obvious for a guy that used to get stopped to do interviews for winning an NBA championship or the Hall of Fame announcement, to get bombarded for something like this. I just said, 'Wow, the bombardment now is such a low compared to the highs that he's had.'"
Billups used a mouse he owns in Colorado as collateral for the bond, which was signed in court by his wife and daughter Sydney.
Billups has been in one of his two Colorado houses for the past several months, according to sources with direct knowledge of his whereabouts. The 15,000-square-foot Greenwood Village estate he purchased in 2007 was used as collateral for his $5 million bond. He sold his Lake Oswego, Oregon, house for $4.275 million shortly after his arrest and indefinite unpaid leave from his head coaching job with the Trail Blazers.
He spends his days quietly, according to sources close to him, with his family and friends in the Denver area, playing golf, watching games and communicating with a handful of NBA brethren. The terms of his release restrict him from traveling outside the United States, and any state or city other than Colorado, California, Maryland, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington D.C. or New York City.
The NBA has begun to gather input from its owners and general managers on new ways to combat tanking in the aftermath of the gambling scandal that rocked the league at the start of the season, sources told ESPN. At a board of governors meeting Friday, the league presented several ideas around potential modifications to rules regarding draft pick protections, the draft lottery and other possible approaches, according to multiple sources. The league rolled out new policies Friday to combat insider information and performance manipulation in the wake of federal indictments of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and former player Damon Jones. But the league is also increasing its focus on tanking, due to its tie to the injury reporting rules and how those were exploited by gamblers seeking inside information, according to the government indictments.
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Can the Heat trade Terry Rozier? Sources told ESPN that it remains unclear what would happen if the Heat were to try to trade Rozier before the Feb. 5 trade deadline. No team will be interested in acquiring Rozier to play for them, as he, like Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, has been put on leave by the NBA. However, Rozier does have a $26.6 million expiring contract that could secure help for Miami's current roster and allow the receiving team to save some money on its future books.
Vinny Benedetto: Final: Nuggets 115, Hornets 106. Denver's road win streak reaches 10 games. Nikola Jokic: 28-9-11 on the night he passes Michael Jordan and Chauncey Billups on the career assists list. Jamal Murray leads all scorers with 34. Tim Hardaway Jr (14) and Payton Watson (10) also in double figures.
Portland Trail Blazers suspended head coach Chauncey Billups has reportedly sold his Lake Oswego home, according to Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report (subscription needed): Chauncey Billups, on leave from the Blazers while he faces federal gambling charges, has sold his Lake Oswego home… A listing on Redfin for Billups’ house in Lake Oswego says the seller has accepted an offer and a sale is pending. The house was listed for $4.275 million. According to public records, Billups—through his LLC called Phavored—bought the 1.74-acre home for $3.9 million in early July of 2021, days after he was officially introduced as Blazers head coach.
You're from Dallas. What made you embrace this place [Detroit] immediately? Cade Cunningham: There were a lot of factors that went into it. I think the culture is number one. The city of Detroit just seemed like a place with a lot of cool people — you know what I'm saying? Like, they love the sports teams, they love the music, they love being from Detroit. And that's something I always found cool. Texas is a place where we’re super proud to be Texans, you know? And I think Detroit is the same way — people are just so proud to be from Detroit. That was something I wanted to be a part of. And the history of the Pistons is unmatched. I mean, Isaiah Thomas, Chauncey — there are so many guys who are just huge. They're legends in the NBA, you know what I mean? And this franchise itself is a legend of the NBA.