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Draymond Green: "When did you realize in the NBA I can actually reach that level?" Deni Avdija: "I remember Chauncey Billups came up to me, because I was really struggling. Like, you know, I just got traded from Washington, I'm up there having a good year, coming to a new team again, switching the situation, and I struggled in the beginning. I wasn't even, I wasn't myself. And then Chauncey came to me, like, 'Listen, you're a great rebounder. Every time you take the rebound, you push it. I want you to push it.' So, I just started doing that. That was my, that was the only thing I was waiting in the game is to grab the board and just facilitating myself. And then the more I did it, the more everything kind of opened up. I kind of like, it was like kind of snowballing. And towards the end of the year, I was facilitating most of the offense and I felt really good."
Sean Highkin: Dewayne Hankins calls this a "busy but often challenging" year. Acknowledges the "challenging" coaching situation with Chauncey Billups, "painful" staff cuts and says they're close to naming a new TV play-by-play announcer but not ready to announce yet.
You talked about your dad being an assistant with the Pistons. So, you were around Sheed, Chauncey, Rip… What was that experience like for you? Ron Harper Jr.: It was great, cause like none of those guys are like quote-unquote superstars, but like they were all superstars in their own right. Like they knew how to play, and no matter whose night it was, you know, they were all supportive of each other. And I feel like that showed me how to play the game the right way. Like they were very willing to ride the hot hand, and it was never ever only about one person; it was about the whole team. And that being like my earliest recollection of basketball, I feel like that’s really stuck with me through and through.
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Mike Vorkunov: Chauncey Billups' lawyers filed a letter to the federal judge overseeing his case to keep Nov. 2 as the trial date, and saying DOJ's argument isn't persuasive. "This case has caused him to lose his livelihood and become subject to an intense degree of public obloquy."
Mike Vorkunov: All indications are that Chauncey Billups will take his case to trial. "Mr. Billups continues to live under the overhang of federal criminal charges... He is therefore most interested in the prompt resolution of this matter," Billups' lawyers write to the judge.
Sean Highkin: Another guilty plea from one of Chauncey Billups’ co-defendants… Alex Schiffer: After his flight was delayed, Shane Hennen pleaded guilty to a count of wire fraud this afternoon in Brooklyn federal court as part of the government’s rigged poker game case. As part of his plea agreement, Hennen’s prop bet case will be transferred to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Mike Vorkunov: Federal prosecutors in the rigged poker game case, where Chauncey Billups is a defendant, have asked to move the trial from Nov. 2, 2026 to early 2027. After 12 people agreed to plead guilty, DOJ lawyers say that they're in "serious plea negotiations" with at least 7 others.
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Mike Vorkunov: If those 7 decide to plead guilty, there will be 5 defendants left after the US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York originally charged 31 people in the indictment. EDNY prosecutors told the federal judge overseeing the case that "approximately three defendants" are not in plea negotiations. The lawyer for Billups is among the five defendant's attorneys who don't consent to EDNY's request to move the trial.
Michael Scotto: BREAKING: The Chicago Bulls are hiring Tiago Splitter as their head coach, league sources told @hoopshype . Splitter had a 42-39 record and advanced to the first round of the playoffs as the interim head coach of the Portland Trail Blazers after taking over for Chauncey Billups.
Shams Charania: The Bulls landed on Splitter due to his ability to lead the team’s player development, organizational alignment on the franchise's direction and vision, and his leadership and knowledge base as a coach rising through the ranks since 2018 as well as a seven-year NBA player with one championship with the San Antonio Spurs. Splitter, 41, guided the Trail Blazers to a 42-40 record and a postseason berth as the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference amid adversity stemming from Chauncey Billups’ federal charges. Sources said top Bulls officials, including Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Bryson Graham and his front-office staff, met with four finalists for the head coaching job last week in Chicago: Splitter, Minnesota Timberwolves assistant Micah Nori, Atlanta Hawks assistant Ryan Schmidt and current Bulls assistant Wes Unseld Jr.