The former Portland coach fights a three-year delay in his federal fraud case, demanding an immediate trial to contest allegations involving rigged poker games and inside information.
Former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups wants his day in court ... and doesn't want to wait much longer for it.
Federal prosecutors requested Thursday that the trial involving Billups and several other defendants in an alleged rigged poker operation be postponed from Nov. 2 until early 2027, according to Front Office Sports' Alex Schiffer.
Billups is among five defendants opposing the delay.
Seven others consented to the request, while plea hearings are reportedly scheduled for 12 additional defendants.
Billups' attorney, Marc Mukasey, made his client's preference clear during a June status conference.
Mukasey told U.S. District Judge Ramon Reyes that he and Billups "love" the idea of beginning the trial in November.
Prosecutors previously argued that scheduling conflicts involving multiple attorneys — along with another attorney's upcoming maternity leave — warranted pushing the proceedings into next year.
Reyes was unmoved at the time and instructed the government to prepare other attorneys to take over if necessary.
The Nov. 2 trial date currently remains in place.
Billups was arrested in October and later pleaded not guilty to charges of wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy.
Prosecutors allege that his celebrity status was used to attract participants to poker games rigged with technology that allowed other members of the alleged operation to cheat players.
Billups has denied wrongdoing through his attorneys.
His arrest immediately changed the trajectory of the Blazers' 2025-26 season.
Portland fired Billups and elevated Tiago Splitter to interim head coach. Splitter proceeded to lead the team to a 42-40 record and its first playoff appearance in five years before accepting the Chicago Bulls' head coaching position this summer.
The Blazers then completed a wide-ranging search by hiring former Minnesota Timberwolves lead assistant Micah Nori.
A November trial would begin shortly after Nori opens his first season with the Blazers, placing Billups back in the news during another significant transition for the franchise.
The case also contains a separate basketball-related allegation.
Billups has not been charged in the game-fixing portion of the federal investigation.
However, Front Office Sports reported that he matches the description of an unnamed co-conspirator accused of sharing information in March 2023 that Portland planned to rest key players.
Billups' former attorney previously denied that he ever gambled on basketball, provided inside information or violated the trust of his team and the NBA.
Whether the trial begins in November or gets pushed into 2027 now rests with the court.
Billups' position couldn't be much clearer.
After spending nine months fighting the charges and watching Portland move forward, he wants the opportunity to present his case as soon as possible.
