Dec 16, 2025, 08:50 PM ET<\/p>\n
LAS VEGAS — It is critical for the NBA to be perceived as having integrity, commissioner Adam Silver said Tuesday, adding that the gambling scandals that led to the arrests of Miami<\/a> guard Terry Rozier<\/a>, Portland<\/a> coach Chauncey Billups and others are being taken with the utmost seriousness.<\/p>\n 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 some time.<\/p>\n “I think the fans care a lot,” Silver said. “It’s hard to make judgments, either anecdotally over what some fans are saying or what’s even on social media. Fans definitely care. And I mean it when I say, if this game 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.”<\/p>\n Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n 2 Related<\/p>\n Silver said the league 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.<\/p>\n But the NBA will look into the possibility of giving Miami some sort of “satisfactory relief” because Rozier currently can’t play, Silver added, though he stopped short of saying such a move would be possible.<\/p>\n “This is an unprecedented situation,” Silver said.<\/p>\n It’s a multilayered issue for the league and the Heat, given that Rozier’s $26.6 million salary takes up about 17% of the team’s cap space — and that the team still owes the Charlotte Hornets<\/a> a first-round pick in either 2027 or 2028 to satisfy the terms of the trade that brought Rozier to Miami. It’s unclear who was aware that Rozier was under federal investigation when the Heat made the trade with the Hornets.<\/p>\n Rozier pleaded not guilty<\/a> earlier this month to wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges stemming from accusations that he helped some friends win bets that revolved around his statistical performance in a game played in March 2023, when he was with Charlotte. Rozier is free on $3 million bond and isn’t expected back in court until March, and he remains on unpaid leave from the Heat.<\/p>\n