Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups and former NBA player and assistant coach Damon Jones were all arrested Thursday morning as part of a wide-ranging gambling investigation, the FBI announced. More than 30 defendants have been charged. This is the NBA's second significant gambling scandal in the past two years, following Jontay Porter's arrest and lifetime ban from the league in 2024. Both Billups and Rozier were placed on indefinite leave by the NBA on Thursday afternoon.
Rozier had previously been under investigation by the league for potential gambling violations, though the NBA announced on Jan. 30 that it did not find a violation of league rules. However, Rozier was never fully exonerated, and the FBI investigation continued and ultimately led to Thursday's arrest.
So what exactly is being investigated here? And what does it mean for the figures involved? Below we'll get into the ramifications of Thursday's arrests.
Why was Terry Rozier arrested?
Rozier and Billups are being investigated for different crimes. Rozier is part of an investigation into bettors using non-public information, such as when a player would miss a game or exit it early, to place bets. In total, seven different games are a part of this investigation, per the FBI:
Rozier and others allegedly obtained insider information and passed it along to bettors. On March 23, 2023, Rozier himself exited a game against the New Orleans Pelicans after nine minutes and 34 seconds, during which he scored five points, pulling in four rebounds and dished out two assists. He allegedly shared with people close to him that he planned to leave the game early. That was his final game action of the 2023-24 season. Members of the group being investigated allegedly placed more than $200,000 in bets on Rozier's “under” line across multiple prop bets.
Why was Chauncey Billups arrested?
Billups, on the other hand, was allegedly involved in rigged poker games tied to the mafia, the FBI said. Victims would be lured into playing with a well-known former NBA player in Billups only to be cheated out of their money using technology that ranged from rigged shuffling machines to X-rays that could read cards that were face down on the table to contact lenses that could identify marked cards, according to the indictment. The FBI said the games were tied to La Cosa Nostra, the Italian mafia.
“The mafia … had preexisting control over non-rigged, illegal poker games around New York City,” U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella said Thursday. “As a result, they also became involved in the rigged poker games, helping to organize the games and taking a cut of the proceedings — and working to enforce the collection of debts.”
Billups, however, might also be tied to sharing insider information with bettors as Blazers coach. Though he was not named in the Rozier indictment, a person referred to as “Co-Conspirator 8” matches Billups' description: “a resident of Oregon” and “an NBA player from approximately 1997 through 2014, and an NBA coach since at least 2021.” The indictment alleges that Co-Conspirator 8 supplied information about the Blazers resting key players ahead of a March 24, 2023, contest against the Bulls before it was public. Damian Lillard, Jusuf Nurkic, Jerami Grant and Anfernee Simons all sat out in a game the Blazers lost by 28 points.
Who is Damon Jones, and how is he involved?
Damon Jones is an 11-year NBA veteran, most prominently with the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers, who would later go on to become an assistant coach for the Cavaliers for three seasons. He is the only NBA figure to have been charged in both indictments: the sports-rigging operation and the illegal poker games.Â
He allegedly passed along insider information in regards to the two Laker games that are under investigation while also serving as one of the big names used to lure in players for the illegal poker games. Jones is a friend, former teammate and coach to LeBron James, and he had restricted access to the Lakers during the 2022-23 season. According to the indictment, before a Feb. 9, 2023, game between the Lakers and Bucks, Jones texted a co-conspirator that they should bet on the game because a player was out. James wound up sitting that game. James was not aware that Jones shared information about his playing status, according to The Athletic.
How is Jontay Porter involved in this?
The FBI's probe into the sports-rigging operation overlapped with the investigation into Jontay Porter, the former Toronto Raptors two-way forward who pled guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and was banned from the NBA for life for violations similar to those for which Rozier is being investigated. Two defendants in the new indictment — though not Jones, Rozier or Billups — are alleged to have threatened Porter in order to keep him involved in the scheme.
What punishments can the NBA hand out to those involved?
If there was ever any questions about how the NBA planned to handle major gambling scandals, they were answered in the Porter case. On March 20, 2024, he removed himself from a game early. Two days later, he played in what would be his final NBA game. Within one month, on April 17, 2024, he was banned from the NBA for life. Those would seemingly be the stakes for Rozier.
Article 35 of the NBA constitution lays out the terms for possible dismissal and disqualification from the sport. Section 35(b):
“The Commissioner shall direct the dismissal and perpetual disqualification from any further association with the Association or any of its Members, of any Player found by the Commissioner after a hearing to have been guilty of offering, agreeing, conspiring, aiding or attempting to cause any game of basketball to result otherwise than on its merits.”Â
Essentially, this states that the commissioner can ban players for engaging in any scheme to unfairly alter the outcome of an NBA game. In addition, section 35(f) lays out the commissioner's widespread authority to issue permanent and unappealable discipline in matters relating to player gambling:Â
“Any Player who, directly or indirectly, wagers money or anything of value on the outcome of any game played by a Team in the league operated by the Association shall, on being charged with such wagering, be given an opportunity to answer such charges after due notice, and the decision of the Commissioner shall be final, binding and conclusive and unappealable. The penalty for such offense shall be within the absolute and sole discretion of the Commissioner and may include a fine, suspension, expulsion and/or perpetual disqualification from further association with the Association or any of its Members.”Â
Therefore, should the allegations prove true, commissioner Adam Silver would have the authority to ban Rozier from the NBA for life, and the Porter precedent suggests that he would.Â
The Billups situation is a bit more complicated. The terminology we just addressed covers players rather than coaches, and it remains to be seen if he is revealed as “Co-Conspirator 8” or if he is proven to have provided insider information to bettors.Â
As far as the involvement with poker games goes, the NBA's operations manual lays out when it is acceptable for non-referee team employees to gamble, according to ESPN:
“Governors, team investors, team and league employees, players, with the exception of referees, may engage in casino gambling and betting on non-NBA league sports in places where it is legal. For example, playing blackjack while at a casino in Las Vegas would not violate NBA rules. Betting on horse races where such betting is legal also is permitted. Covered Persons must always remember that they are representatives of the NBA, and must be mindful of their conduct and the effect it may have on others, their reputations, and the reputation of the league.”
Independent of possible rigging, the poker games Billups allegedly participated in were not legal. Therefore, Billups' mere participation in such games would constitute a violation of the NBA's operations manual, and therefore subject him to discipline. However, article 35A of the constitution, which covers misconduct of persons other than players, does not lay out a path to a possible ban for involvement in illegal gambling that is not directly tied to the NBA. The only crimes it does directly reference relate to the use, possession or distribution of illegal substances. Therefore, discipline would seemingly be in the hands of the commissioner, but at a less severe level.
What does this mean for the Heat and Trail Blazers?
Rozier did not participate in Miami's season-opening loss to the Orlando Magic, so at least the Heat are seemingly not in danger of losing a rotation player. If Rozier is indeed banned for life, Article XXXIII of the collective bargaining agreement is clear: his contract “shall be rendered null and void and of no further force or effect.”
What would this mean from a cap perspective? In an immediate sense, not too much. The Heat ducked below the luxury tax by trading Haywood Highsmith before the season, so removing Rozier would not take them below any immediate thresholds they might have liked to cross. As Rozier is on an expiring contract, a ban would not give the Heat long-term cap relief. It would, however, open up some interesting short-term possibilities.
As of right now, the Heat are sitting at around $186 million in team salary. That's right beneath the tax. However, if Rozier's $26.6 million salary were removed, that would drop their team salary to around $159 million. Suddenly, the Heat would barely be over the salary cap. This would allow the Heat to use their full, non-taxpayer mid-level exception of around $14.1 million. While there are very few notable free agents left on the market, the 2023 CBA was amended to allow teams to use that exception in trades, meaning the Heat could absorb a player making around $14 million to replace Rozier if his contract is voided without going above the luxury tax.
Of course, that depends on the timing of such a decision. The Porter investigation resolved quickly. It is unlikely that Rozier's criminal proceedings play out so fast. Rozier may be stuck in limbo throughout the final year of his contract, with the Heat unable to benefit from the voiding of his contract. They could theoretically trade his expiring contract to another team purely for the sake of matching salary, though obviously, if his contract is voided, they would lose that possibility. Ironically, a $26 million expiring salary is arguably more useful than a $14 million trade exception when it comes to making a win-now trade. The former allows for the team to absorb a more expensive player. The latter allows for a team to take in a cheaper one, but not send money back, therefore allowing the other team to save money.
As for the Blazers, with Billups now placed on leave, the team has reportedly tabbed Tiago Splitter to be the interim head coach. Their next game is Friday night against the Warriors.
What has the NBA said about the case?
The NBA issued the following statement on Thursday: “We are in the process of reviewing the federal indictments announced today. 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 or top priority.”
Notably, Silver recently called for stricter regulations on prop betting, the very type of bets that Rozier is alleged to have been involved with.Â
“We've asked some of our partners to pull back some of the prop bets, especially when they're on two-way players, guys who don't have the same stake in the competition, where it's too easy to manipulate something, which seems otherwise small and inconsequential to the overall score,” Silver on “The Pat McAfee Show” Tuesday. “We're trying to put in place — learning as we go and working with the betting companies — some additional control to prevent some of that manipulation.”
What has the Players Association said about the case?
The NBPA issued the following statement on Thursday: “The integrity of the game is paramount to NBA players, but so is the presumption of innocence, and both are hindered when player popularity is misused to gain attention. We will ensure our members are protected and afforded their due process rights through this process.”
What have the defendants said about the case?
Neither Billups nor his representatives have yet issued a statement on his arrest. Rozier's attorney, Jim Trusty, issued the following statement to Pablo Torre Finds Out:
“We have represented Terry Rozier for over a year. A long time ago we reached out to these prosecutors to tell them we should have an open line of communication. They characterized Terry as a subject, not a target, but at 6 a.m. this morning they called to tell me FBI agents were trying to arrest him in a hotel. It is unfortunate that instead of allowing him to self surrender they opted for a photo op. They wanted the misplaced glory of embarrassing a professional athlete with a perp walk. That tells you a lot about the motivations in this case. They appear to be taking the word of spectacularly in-credible sources rather than relying on actual evidence of wrongdoing. Terry was cleared by the NBA and these prosecutors revived that non-case. Terry is not a gambler, but he is not afraid of a fight, and he looks forward to winning this fight.”
