The Portland Trail Blazers organization is still recovering from the shock that resulted from their head coach Chauncey Billups being arrested by the FBI for supposed activity in rigged poker games. Billups was one of three publicly revealed NBA figures to have been arrested as part of a wide-ranging investigation that included both the poker games as well as the illegal selling of information for NBA betting, a scandal that has rocked the league to its core.
Recently, newly acquired Blazers guard Jrue Holiday spoke on his initial reaction to the news.
“Honestly, we were shocked,” said Holiday, per Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.
Holiday also spoke on the respect he personally has for Billups, considering the way Billups helped get him to the Boston Celtics when Holiday was first traded to the Blazers from the Milwaukee Bucks back in 2023.
“Chauncey really did me a solid the first time I was traded here, just being able to see things through my lens and ask me what I wanted,” Holiday said. “Not many coaches would do that. But he understood because he was also a player in this league.”
“We talked all the time,” Holiday added. “A little bit of basketball. A lot of life.”
A shocking scandal for the Blazers
In the meantime, the Blazers have soldiered forward without Billups manning the sidelines, currently sitting at 3-2 after a recent narrow road win over the Utah Jazz. The Blazers are expected by many to take a step up next year, thanks to the addition of Holiday as well as expected growth from young players like Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Camara.
Still, the Billups saga has clearly hung a bit of a cloud over the franchise for now, as the team tries to figure out if they'll ever be getting their head coach back. Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are both on leave right now, which the NBA announced would be unpaid earlier this week.
The Blazers will next take the floor on Friday evening against the Denver Nuggets.
