Silver says NBA is taking gambling scandal seriously, may look into Heat relief over Terry Rozier

LAS VEGAS AP It is critical for the NBA to be perceived as having integrity Commissioner Adam Silver mentioned Tuesday adding that the gambling scandals that led to the arrests of Miami guard Terry Rozier Portland coach Chauncey Billups and others are being taken with the utmost seriousness Silver s comments in a news conference shortly before the start of the NBA Cup final were his first since Rozier Billups and others were arrested in October He spoke in Las Vegas a gambling mecca that the league has used for major events like the Cup final and Summer League for specific time I think the fans care a lot Silver disclosed It s hard to make judgments either anecdotally over what chosen fans are saying or what s even on social media Fans definitely care And I mean it when I say if this encounter isn t viewed as being honest and the competition being on the level and at the highest integrity over time we will lose our fan base I have no doubt about that And so I take it incredibly seriously The NBA is not sure how long the investigations and legal processes surrounding gambling charges faced by Rozier Billups a Basketball Hall of Fame inductee and others will take to be completed Silver stated But the league will look into the possibility of giving Miami various sort of satisfactory relief because Rozier as of now can t play Silver added though he stopped short of saying such a move would be realizable This is an unprecedented situation Silver explained It s a multi-layered issue for the league and the Heat given that Rozier s million salary takes up about of the company s cap space and that the club still owes Charlotte a first-round pick in either or to satisfy the terms of the pact that brought Rozier to Miami It s unclear who was aware that Rozier was under federal study when the Heat made the bargain with the Hornets Rozier pleaded not guilty earlier this month to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges stemming from accusations that he helped a few friends win bets that revolved around his statistical performance in a match played in March when he was with Charlotte Rozier is free on million bond and isn t expected back in court until March and he remains on unpaid leave from the Heat Prosecutors say Rozier informed the bettors that he intended to leave the competition against the New Orleans Pelicans early with a supposed injury allowing gamblers to place wagers earning them tens of thousands of dollars Rozier played the first nine minutes and seconds of the contest before leaving citing a foot issue He did not play again that season and was subsequently traded to the Heat Rozier isn t receiving his pay but his salary is still on the Heat s books and is being sent to an interest-bearing account pending resolution of his scenario or particular other agreement We re going to try to work something through work this out with them Silver mentioned But there s no obvious resolution here I would just say that there s no doubt at the moment they have a performer that can t perform services for them Obviously he hasn t been convicted of anything yet either but this is an unfortunate circumstance Sometimes there s these unique events and maybe sometimes they require a unique answer Billups also pleaded not guilty last month to charges related to a separate scheme to fix high-stakes Mafia-backed poker games Rozier Billups and former NBA guard Damon Jones were among more than people including several Mafia figures arrested in October as part of a sprawling federal takedown of illegal gambling operations linked to pro sports The league requires annual training for players coaches and staff about what s allowed and what isn t allowed regarding gambling which is now legal in preponderance states Silver famously championed legalization of sports betting in an op-ed he wrote for The New York Times in The situations with Rozier and Billups have led to a quest for even heightened awareness Silver noted The league is also looking at how best to ensure prop bets based solely on a participant s statistical performance like the ones made on Rozier s March match can be executed fairly We ve been redoubling our efforts at the league office working with our teams looking at every aspect of our rules around sports betting Silver mentioned Are there better techniques to educate the participants Are there changes we should make in how injuries are informed We re in the process as I stated right now and working with our teams thinking about anything else we can be doing if there s any aspect of our system that demands to be shored up