Tyronn Lue talks about the allegations against best friend Chauncey Billups

LA Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers faced off Sunday night for the first of four games this season. What should have been a battle between best friends Tyronn Lue and Chauncey Billups quickly turned gloomy after the news last week.

Billups, who just began his fifth season as the Blazers’ head coach, was among more than 30 people were arrested by the FBI on Thursday morning in a coordinated sweep in 11 states within a broad federal investigation into illegal sports betting and rigged poker games.

The news sent shockwaves around the world, and questions about the allegations continue to pour in.

LA Clippers coach Tyronn Lue, who Chauncey Billups considers one of his best friends, was asked about the past few days.

“I’m sorry Chauncey, my best friend, had to go through something like this,” Lue said Sunday. “The lawsuits, his family, my godson. So it was a tough day and you never want to see your friends go through something like that.

“It’s hard to process. Chauncey has been my brother since we were 17. You hate to see him go through something like this, along with his three little girls who are my godchildren, his wife Piper. Like I said, I believe in Chauncey’s character, I know who he is as a person. I’ve been with him since he was 17 and I just love him. It was hard for him to have something happen to me. Always.”

Billups is on an indefinite leave of absence from the Blazers is pending a federal investigation and is not allowed to have any contact with team members.

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Tyronn Lue, who shares an agent with Billups, said he can still communicate with the organization.

“I can talk to him,” Lue added. “Yeah, I talked to him. You know someone for so long, you can tell just by their voice. Just listen to his voice if he’s okay. He’s sure about what’s going on. The hardest thing is his family going through it, his daughters, but other than that, he’s really sure about the situation, so I just heard his voice, so I could just see it was good to hear.”

The last few days the players love Jailen Brown and Al Horford have been vocal about their experiences
including sports gambling.

“That whole world was aware of it a few years ago, and I don’t think they considered the players,” Jaylen Brown said a few days after the arrest. “Especially with the energy, the gambling behavior and how that directly correlates with the players,” Brown said.

“We don’t benefit from any of the profits, but we have to deal with a lot of additional negativity and scrutiny behind all the gambling stuff. On top of that, it creates more integrity issues.”

The NBA responded to Brown’s comments with a strong statement of its own, reaffirming the league’s priorities and player safety.

“Protecting the safety of players and coaches has always been of the utmost importance,” NBA spokesman Mike Buss told ClutchPoints. (League Security) works with team officials and law enforcement to respond to any type of fan behavior that violates our code of conduct – whether it’s in our arenas or online. We have safeguards in place, including social media monitoring, to monitor and mitigate any potential threats or security risks. And we have increased communication with fans attending matches to reinforce our code of conduct and emphasize that disrespect and abusive behavior will not be tolerated.”

The Blazers are still getting used to life without Billups, especially after the organization named Tiago Splitter as their interim head coach.