"FOR A FEW hours last Thursday, it was a relatively normal morning for Jrue Holiday and his Portland Trail Blazers teammates. Most of them had turned their phones off hoping to sleep in after a late-night season-opening loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. The biggest issue Holiday faced was whether his kids would let him sleep past 8 a.m. But when morning came and he checked his phone, he knew nothing about this season was going to be normal again. For any of them."
"His coach, Chauncey Billups, the Hall of Fame player who had been guiding Portland through its rebuild the past five seasons, was in federal custody. Billups had been arrested by the FBI in a predawn raid in connection with a federal probe into rigged poker games and was implicated in a separate probe into illegal gambling on NBA games. The news was everywhere."
"Two years ago, after Holiday had been traded to Portland from the Milwaukee Bucks in a blockbuster deal for Damian Lillard, Billups had called to tell him that he would love to have Holiday as a veteran leader on the team as it began its rebuild. But he also wanted to know where Holiday's head and heart were, too. Holiday had won a championship with the Bucks in 2021 and at 33, was still a deeply impactful player."
Chauncey Billups, the Hall of Fame coach who led the Portland Trail Blazers' rebuild, was taken into federal custody after an FBI raid connected to a probe of rigged poker games and alleged illegal gambling on NBA games. The arrest jolted the team the morning after a season-opening loss. Jrue Holiday and teammates learned the news and knew the season would not be normal. Holiday had previously been traded to Portland and talked with Billups about his role. Portland later facilitated Holiday's trade to the Boston Celtics, receiving Robert Williams III, Malcolm Brogdon and two first-round picks.
Read at ESPN.com
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