On a report released on Wednesday, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier are not getting paychecks as they remain on leave because of pending federal gambling-related indictments.
The ESPN sources reported that each of the two salaries have been placed in escrow pending matters of their legal status. Billups, 49, makes approximately $4.7 million a season playing with Trail Blazers, and Rozier, 31, can make $26.6 million this year, which is the last year of his contract.
On October 23, the two were arrested after a long period of investigation by the federal agents concerning illegal gambling and poker activities which allegedly involved 11 states. The officials indicated that the operation had resulted in the arrest of 34 people in total, 13 of whom had association with mafia groups.
Billups has been indicted on the basis of a poker ring which his prosecutors assert to have mafia ties. Rozier, in the meantime, is accused of intentionally manipulating his in-game performance to affect illegal gambling. The two men have highly refuted the charges and promised to clear their names.
Billups is a reputable person in the field of basketball that served 17 years in the NBA and got the title of Mr. Big Shot due to his ability to perform in the clutch. In 2004, he won an NBA championship with the Detroit Pistons and was Finals MVP in the same year. He became a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Billups has earned the Blazers a record of 117-211 since becoming the head coach of the team in 2021, a.357 winning percentage in four seasons. His rule has been characterized by injuries, additions and restructuring of the team but on the other hand he has been a popular personality in the organization until this scandal broke out.
Rozier was drafted in 2015 by the Boston Celtics and has been playing in three teams; Boston, Charlotte, and Miami. He has been known to score and is energetic averaging 13.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 665 games in his career and has started 381 of them.
This leaves both Billups and Rozier on leave but without employment in their respective teams as the federal investigation is going on and their future remains unclear depending on how the case goes.
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