Trail Blazers enduring 'tough situation' following arrest of Pistons legend and coach

Coty M. Davis, The Detroit News on Dec 5, 2025

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DETROIT — Basketball Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups, who is regarded as a legend in the Motor City, might have been at Little Caesars Arena, devising a game plan to slow down the Detroit Pistons. However, on Friday night, Billups will be miles away from the arena that displays his jersey in the rafters.

Billups, 49, was arrested and charged in connection with illegal sports betting schemes and rigged poker games on Oct. 23. He has since pleaded not guilty to his involvement in an extensive scheme to manipulate underground poker games linked to Mafia families.

The arrest has put Billups' NBA coaching career in jeopardy. He had just started his fifth season as head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers the day before he was taken into custody, on the verge of building upon last season's success. The Trail Blazers recovered from a poor start and and fell just short of qualifying for the postseason play-in tournament.

"It was a tough situation, but the NBA is a business and fast-paced; you don't have any time to slow down for anything," the Trail Blazers' Jerami Grant told The Detroit News. "You can't stop and think about it too much because you have games to play. We all have a job to do, regardless of what is happening. We just had to keep moving forward."

The Trail Blazers placed Billups on unpaid leave and promoted assistant Tiago Splitter as interim. The unexpected loss of a head coach would send most teams — especially a young core — into a downward spiral. However, the Trail Blazers have been able to compartmentalize Billups' absence and make positive strides amid their ongoing rebuilding process.

They arrived in Detroit after their impressive 122-110 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena on Wednesday night. The victory improved the Trail Blazers to 9-13 and tied for ninth in the Western Conference.

Despite being four games below .500, the Trail Blazers have had an encouraging start to the season. Grant credited the veteran leadership of himself, Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard for guiding the team through the adversity.

Headlined by Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe, Portland's young core has been at the forefront of the team's success, a testament to the teachings and foundation Billups instilled in the group during his tenure as coach. Avdija and Sharpe lead the Trail Blazers in scoring, averaging 25.8 points and 20.9 points, respectively.

"When he was here, he was coaching us up and developing all of the young guys, which is something he was doing for a while now," Grant said. "Their growth is a testament to the work that he has been able to do for our group and us."

The accusations against Billups have created significant uncertainty in the NBA and sparked widespread reactions. In addition to the Pistons legend, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA player Damon Jones were also arrested.

Billups revitalized his career with the Pistons and he is regarded as one of the greatest players in franchise history. The Hall of Famer averaged 17.0 points on 42.4% shooting, 40.0% from 3-point range, 6.3 assists and a steal during his career in Detroit, which spanned 2002-2008. He led the Pistons to the 2004 NBA championship.