Kevin Garnett Reportedly Played In Poker Event Tied To Chauncey Billups’ Arrest
A new report from journalist Pablo Torre reveals that former Boston Celtics NBA champion Kevin Garnett was among the athletes who played in poker games organized by individuals recently indicted by the United States Department of Justice in “Operation Royal Flush”, an allegedly criminal conspiracy that led to Thursday’s arrest of Portland Trail Blazer head coach Chauncey Billups.
To be clear, Garnett has not, to public knowledge, been arrested or implicated in any criminal activity related to the poker games.
Billups was released from federal custody on Thursday, hours after being arrested by the FBI. His lawyer released a statement asserting that he and Billups will be fighting against the charges: “To believe that Chauncey Billups did what the federal government is accusing him of is to believe that he would risk his hall-of-fame legacy, his reputation, and his freedom. He would not jeopardize those things for anything, let alone a card game.”
Celtics guard Anfernee Simons, who played under Billups in Portland, reacted to the news on Friday.
“It hit me pretty tough for sure,” Simons said, per The Athletic‘s Jay King. “Just in shock. And obviously I’ve got a great relationship with Chauncey. Even after the trade, he’s checking in on me and I’m checking in on him. So we had a great relationship and I think like I said before it’s an unfortunate situation for him to be in, especially for him and his family, all the media attention that’s coming in, the scrutiny. It’s just an unfortunate situation.”
Outside of an initial statement, the NBA has not provided further remarks about Billups’ ongoing investigation, nor about that of former Celtics guard Terry Rozier.