A brand new NBA gambling scandal contains some acquainted names with Cleveland ties.
More than 30 folks have been arrested, together with former Shaker Heights basketball star Terry Rozier, a 10-year NBA veteran now with the Miami Heat. He faces unspecified fees tied to alleged unlawful sports activities betting and rigged poker games reportedly backed by the Mafia. Damon Jones, who performed for the Cavs from 2005 to 2008 and later served as an assistant coach in Cleveland, is accused of giving inside data to co-defendants, who then used it to position NBA wagers.
Ideastream Public Media’s sports activities commentator Terry Pluto stated the most troubling identify implicated is Chauncy Billups, a basketball corridor of famer and Portland’s present head coach.
“(He’s) a man that made $107 million {dollars} as a participant.,” Pluto said. “Then, he is been teaching the Portland Trail Blazers for the final 4 years, making over $4 million a yr, and he is concerned in that.”
Pluto stated Billups has a noteworthy Cleveland connection. In 2017, when Cleveland Cavaliers proprietor Dan Gilbert fired common supervisor David Griffin, he reportedly needed to rent Billups as the group’s subsequent GM.
“Well, they offered him all kinds of different contracts,” Pluto said. “Billups turned it down, I think primarily because he realized that the 2017-2018 season was going to be the last with LeBron James, you’d have a massive rebuilding job. Gilbert decided, ‘Well, I kinda like Koby Altman (and) he’s been the assistant here for a while. We’ll just promote him.’”
Pluto pressured the involvement of a coach or government makes gambling scandals significantly regarding. While the most severe allegations in opposition to Billups regard his involvement in rigged poker video games, Billups was additionally accused of offering inside data that might probably be used for betting.
“The gamblers are at all times involved in harm reviews,” Pluto said. “They need to know who’s going to be taking part in that night time and who is not. A man who actually can get data not solely on his personal group, however from throughout the league is a common supervisor or a coach.”
Billups is accused of tipping off bettors that the Trail Blazers would be resting top players.
“This is information you really want if you’re a bettor,” Pluto said.
Pluto added that according to the FBI, Billups began participating in the poker games in 2019, which would have been his second year serving as the Cavaliers’ general manager.
“This is a major, major scandal for the NBA, and thank goodness this didn’t end up in Cleveland,” Pluto said.
Terry Rozier is accused of conspiring with associates to help them win bets based on his statistical performance in a game played when he was with Charlotte on March 23, 2023. He scored just five points and played less than 10 minutes earlier than saying he was damage.
Pluto stated prop bets, that are wagers on particular person participant performances quite than sport outcomes, have gotten an rising downside throughout skilled sports activities. He famous they’re additionally at the heart of the ongoing investigation involving Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz.
“They were supposed to throw a ball or walk a guy a certain part of the games,” Pluto said. “It had nothing to do with the big outcome overall. Those two guys, Ortiz and Clase, are still out while Major League Baseball is investigating that, and my belief is they know what they’re going to do with those guys. They just don’t want to announce it until after the World Series. And there’s a good chance, in my opinion only, that both of those guys could be suspended for life. They’ve got to hammer these people here.”
Looking ahead, Pluto warned that the problem may grow before it’s contained.
“Yeah, there’ll be more coming out,” Pluto said. “I know there are several college basketball programs that are being looked at. You want to feel that the game is not rigged. I guess that’s what it comes down to.”
And Pluto offered a suggestion for how pro sports can address the issue.
“Maybe the commissioners of the NBA and the NFL and Major League Baseball and soccer, whoever else, almost could come up with a uniform thing of penalties together,” Pluto said. “They got to get way out in front of this and nail these guys. (It) just cuts the heart out of the game.”