The Portland Trail Blazers have been without their head coach, Chauncey Billups, for most of the season after he was arrested on sports betting charges. The latest news pertaining to Billups is that he plans to plead not guilty to the charges, according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
“A source told me that Chauncey Billups will plead not guilty to the illegal sports betting charges,” Charania said on NBA Today. “The FBI has two charges against Billups. One is a count of wire fraud, and the other is money laundering. Each count carries no more than 20 years in prison. This is a routine arraignment where they're going to redo your charges. There's going to be a not guilty plea by Chauncey Billups. This will be a long, drawn out process… This will go 6 to 12 months, at least.”
Chauncey Billups will plead not guilty to the illegal sports betting charges, per @ShamsCharania.
"This will be a long, drawn out process… This will go 6 to 12 months, at least."pic.twitter.com/osprX2SSUN
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) November 21, 2025
Billups was indicted for his alleged participation in a wide-ranging, years-long scheme to defraud card players in poker games in 2019 when he wasn't a coach or a player.
During the same time as Billups' arrest, Terry Rozier of the Miami Heat and Damon Jones were arrested as well. Rozier was arrested and charged with allegedly taking himself out of a game on purpose in 2023 so a co-conspirator could place a bet and win.
Jones was charged with using his relationship with Los Angeles Lakers players to place bets. Jones found out in 2023 that LeBron James was not playing against the Milwaukee Bucks, and he told an unnamed co-conspirator to place a bet. Jones did the same thing in 2024 when he learned from a trainer that a Lakers player was hurt and his minutes would be restricted.
As for Billups, it's hard to see him returning to the Trail Blazers this season, and there's a good chance his coaching career could be in jeopardy if he's found guilty on the charges.
