NEW YORK — NBA commissioner Adam Silver said he felt “deeply disturbed” when federal authorities unsealed indictments Thursday that included Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups.
Speaking Friday during a second-quarter interview with Amazon’s broadcast of the New York Knicks–Boston Celtics game at Madison Square Garden, Silver stressed that “there’s nothing more important to the league and its fans than the integrity of the competition.”
How the league became involved
Silver outlined the sequence that led to a 2023 internal probe involving Rozier. Regulators and legal sports-betting operators flagged “aberrational behavior” around a March 23, 2023 contest in New Orleans, where Rozier, then with the Charlotte Hornets, faced the Pelicans. The NBA opened an investigation but, according to Silver, “couldn’t find anything” to confirm wrongdoing and announced at the time that no league rules had been violated.
Rozier cooperated by submitting to interviews and turning over his phone, Silver said. “We ultimately concluded that there was insufficient evidence, despite that aberrational behavior,” he noted, adding that the league has worked with federal investigators since.
“The federal government has subpoena power, can threaten to put people in jail — all kinds of things the league office can’t do,” Silver explained. “We’ve been working with them since then, and what they announced yesterday was an indictment.” He pointed out that, 2½ years after the game in question, Rozier “still hasn’t been convicted of anything.”
Details in the indictment
Rozier, Billups and former Cleveland Cavaliers player and assistant coach Damon Jones are among 34 individuals charged in two federal cases involving illegal sports betting and rigged poker games. The NBA placed Rozier and Billups on immediate administrative leave Thursday.
Court documents allege that from December 2022 through March 2024, conspirators wagered on at least seven NBA games featuring the Hornets, Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Toronto Raptors and Trail Blazers using nonpublic information. Rozier is accused of sharing inside details, removing himself early from at least one game for bettors’ benefit and profiting from the scheme.
The indictment says Rozier told childhood friend Deniro Laster he would exit the March 23, 2023 Hornets-Pelicans game in the first quarter due to a supposed injury. Laster allegedly sold that information for about $100,000 to two bettors, who, along with associates and proxy bettors, placed hundreds of thousands of dollars on Rozier’s statistical “unders.” Rozier left the game after nine minutes with 5 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists, and many of the wagers reportedly cashed.
The federal investigations remain active, according to authorities, and the NBA said it will continue cooperating.
Source: ESPN
