Chris Douglas-Roberts Rumors

18 Former NBA Players Charged For Allegedly Defrauding League’s Benefit Plan

October 7th, 2021 at 10:37am CST by Luke Adams

Eighteen former NBA players face charges in New York federal court over allegations that they defrauded the NBA’s health and welfare benefit plan, according to a report from Jonathan Dienst and Tom Winter of NBC. The players each face a count of conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud.

As Dienst and Winter outline, the indictment alleges that these players engaged in a scheme from 2017-20 to defraud the NBA’s benefit plan by submitting false claims for dental and medical expenses that were never incurred. According to the indictment, the fraudulent claims totaled about $3.9MM, and the defendants received approximately $2.5MM in proceeds.

While none of the players who have been charged were household names, many won titles and/or had long NBA careers, and most will likely be recognizable to Hoops Rumors readers. They are as follows:

Williams was named in the indictment as the one who orchestrated the scheme, according to Dienst and Winter, who say the former lottery pick is accused of having recruited other participants by offering them fake invoices. He allegedly received payments totaling $230K in exchange for those fake documents, per NBC’s report.

Allen’s wife, Desiree Allen, was also charged in the indictment. As John Hollinger of The Athletic tweets, the Grizzlies had been planning to retire Allen’s number in January — they may decide to postpone their ceremony honoring the six-time All-Defensive swingman.

Players Catch On With D-League Franchises

October 26th, 2016 at 8:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

Several players who were recently waived out of the NBA have reached agreements with D-League teams, according to Chris Reichert of The Step Back:

Spencer Dinwiddie, released on Friday by Chicago, has signed with the Windy City Bulls (Twitter link). Chicago, which acquired Dinwiddie in a deal with the Pistons, then waived and later re-signed him, parted ways with the guard again despite being at the roster limit of 15.
Johnny O’Bryant, who was waived by the Wizards on Friday, has signed a D-League contract and will be eligible for the draft (Twitter link). The 23-year-old power forward spent the past two seasons with the Bucks.
Vince Hunter, who was waived by the Bulls and Grizzlies this month, will return to the Reno Bighorns (Twitter link). Hunter, 22, is a 6’8″ forward out of Texas-El Paso who has yet to play in the NBA.
Cliff Alexander, who was released by the Magic, has signed with the Erie BayHawks (Twitter link). The 20-year-old power forward played eight games for the Trail Blazers last season.
Chris Douglas-Roberts will return to the Texas Legends, where he finished the 2015/16 season (Twitter link). The 29-year-old swingman last played in the NBA in 2014/15, when he spent 12 games with the Clippers.
Josh Childress, who has been out of the NBA for almost three full seasons, signed with the Texas Legends (Twitter link). The 33-year-old swingman’s last NBA experience was four games with New Orleans during the 2013/14 season. He finished last season with the Legends after playing in Australia. (Update: Report denied by Childress’ agent; Reichert has removed his tweet)

Also, from the D-League Digest:

Axel Toupane, who was waived by the Nuggets, will return to Raptors 905 (Twitter link). The 6’7″ small forward played 21 games for Denver last season.
Jarell Eddie, who was released by the Wizards on Friday, will return to the Austin Spurs (Twitter link). Eddie, 24, appeared in 26 games for Washington a year ago.
J.J. O’Brien, who was cut by the Bucks, has signed with the Salt Lake City Stars (Twitter link). A 24-year-old small forward, he got into two games with the Jazz last season.
Egidijus Mockevicius, who was waived last week by Brooklyn, will play for the Long Island Nets (Twitter link). The 24-year-old Lithuanian forward has no NBA experience.
Veteran point guard Jannero Pargo has signed with Oklahoma City Blue (Twitter link). The 37-year-old last played for the Hornets in 2014/15.

Eastern Notes: Telfair, Pacers, Weaver

June 8th, 2016 at 5:33pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Despite possessing solid assets like Paul George and Myles Turner, the Pacers are a team in search of an identity entering the summer, Keith P. Smith of RealGM writes in his offseason primer for Indiana. Given the team’s stated desire to play at a faster speed on offense, the scribe questions the hiring of Nate McMillan as head coach since McMillan’s teams have consistently ranked near the bottom of the league in pace.

Smith also notes that Indiana would be better served to add a starting-caliber shooting guard this summer and shift Monta Ellis to a sixth man role, given his declining three-point shooting and diminishing trips to the foul line. Ellis, 30, still has three years and approximately $33.68MM remaining on his current deal.

Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:

The Nets have hired Will Weaver, who served as a special assistant to Sixers coach Brett Brown the past two seasons, to work in the same capacity under new head coach Kenny Atkinson, NetsDaily relays.
The Raptors held workouts today for Daniel Hamilton (UConn), Kyle Collinsworth (BYU), Perry Ellis (Kansas), James Webb III (Boise State), Guerschon Yabusele (France) and Chinanu Onuaku (Louisville), the team announced.
The Pistons are holding free agent workouts this week and some notable attendees include Phil Pressey, Jordan Crawford, Greg Whittington and Chris Douglas-Roberts, Rod Beard of The Detroit News tweets.
The Nets brought in veteran point guard Sebastian Telfair for a workout on Tuesday, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter). Telfair last played in the NBA during the 2014/15 campaign, appearing in 16 games for the Thunder.

And-Ones: Durant, Harden, Most Improved, Hawks

February 28th, 2016 at 10:50pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kevin Durant has a shot at the largest contract in league history when his free agency officially arrives this summer, according to Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe. Durant will have plenty of options to choose from, starting with the Thunder, who would love to keep him and Russell Westbrook together through the prime of their careers. The Warriors are believed to be the front-runners if Durant decides to leave Oklahoma City, and his hometown Wizards will surely be calling, along with the Lakers, who will need a star to replace Kobe Bryant. Or Durant could sign a one-year deal with OKC, maximize his earning power as a 10-year veteran and put off the larger decision until 2017. “Everybody’s going to ask me, so of course I’m going to have to think about it now,” Durant said. “To tell you one thing, it’s great to feel wanted, I guess.”

There’s more news from around the world of basketball:

James Harden says he feels unfairly targeted for the bad situation in Houston, Washburn writes in the same piece, particularly the rumored rifts with Rockets center Dwight Howard and former coach Kevin McHale. “All the time,” Harden said when asked if he feels he’s being singled out over team disunity, “but I don’t really pay attention to it. I can’t focus on negativity because that drains you. I focus on what I can do, what I can control, and go out there and just compete at a high level.”
The Blazers‘ C.J. McCollum is almost certain to win this season’s Most Improved Player award, according to Eric Saar of Basketball Insiders. McCollum, who’ll be up for a rookie scale extension this summer, has become a full-time starter and has raised his scoring average from 6.8 points a game last year to 21.1 points this season. Saar’s other candidates for the award are the Warriors‘ Draymond Green, the Celtics‘ Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder and the Raptors‘ Kyle Lowry.
The Hawks have recalled center Edy Tavares and guard/forward Lamar Patterson from the Austin Spurs of the D-League, the team announced today. Tavares has averaged 10.1 points and 9.6 rebounds in 14 D-League games, while Patterson’s averages are 15.6 points, 5.7 assists and 5.0 rebounds in seven games with Austin.
Chris Douglas-Roberts, whom the Pelicans cut in training camp, will be rejoining the D-League’s Texas Legends, who are the affiliate of the Mavericks, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.

Pelicans Cut Chris Douglas-Roberts, Sean Kilpatrick

October 23rd, 2015 at 10:56am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans have waived Chris Douglas-Roberts and Sean Kilpatrick, the team announced via press release. The moves give New Orleans 17 players, 13 of whom have full guarantees. Neither Douglas-Roberts nor Kilpatrick has any guaranteed salary.

Most of the original camp invitees for the Pelicans were wing players like Douglas-Roberts and Kilpatrick, but injuries at point guard and center threw the preseason into flux for New Orleans. Centers Omer Asik and Alexis Ajinca, point guard Norris Cole, and swingman and occasional point guard Tyreke Evans are all missing time, plus starting point guard Jrue Holiday is on a minutes restriction. Point guards Nate Robinson and Bo McCalebb and power forward Jeff Adrien are the remaining non-guaranteed players for the team, while rookie shooting guard Bryce Dejean-Jones has a $50K partial guarantee.

The 28-year-old Douglas-Roberts was attempting to revive his NBA career after he saw action in only 12 games last season. He averaged 7.0 points in 19.7 minutes per game across seven preseason contests for New Orleans, including one start, but it wasn’t enough to save his spot on the roster. Kilpatrick, 25, looked strong, too, averaging 10.4 PPG in 14.2 MPG. He was the beneficiary of an injury problem last year with the Timberwolves, when he earned a roster spot in large measure because of his proximity to New York, where the Wolves were set to play the Knicks but didn’t have enough healthy players.

Who should the Pelicans keep for opening night? Leave a comment to share your thoughts.

Southwest Notes: Clippers, Jenkins, Aldridge

October 9th, 2015 at 7:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Employing daily meditation and a vegan diet, one that he’s trying to convince Anthony Davis to adopt, Chris Douglas-Roberts is taking a more sanguine approach to his career than he used to as he fights for a regular season roster spot on the Pelicans, as John Reid of The Times Picayune details. The Pelicans have six players, including Douglas-Roberts, who don’t have fully guaranteed salary and 13 who do. ”I was a first-team All-American [in college] — top five player in the country — and got drafted second round,” Douglas-Roberts said. ”So I carried a little bit bitterness and anger from that. I still performed when I was given an opportunity. But my energy just wasn’t right. Now my energy is right.”

Here’s more happenings from the Southwest Division:

John Jenkins has impressed Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle with his aggressive play, though Jenkins, a shooting guard by trade, has had his struggles while filling in at point guard due to a number of injuries, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “The learning curve is always going to be there with young players. You know, we’ve got some young guys that are getting a real chance to play and are learning things. That said, I really like Jenkins. You know, Jenkins has played a real aggressive game both of the last two nights. He’s shown he can handle the ball a little bit. He’s done a good job, and he’s got to continue doing what he’s been doing,” Carlisle told Sneed.
The Rockets have been encouraged thus far by the preseason showings of second-year players K.J. McDaniels and Clint Capela, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle notes. Capela was selected with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and McDaniels re-signed with the team over the summer after having been acquired from the Sixers at last February’s deadline in exchange for Isaiah Canaan and a second-round pick.
LaMarcus Aldridge, who left the Trail Blazers over the summer to sign a four-year, $84MM deal with the Spurs, is still acclimating himself to San Antonio’s system, but he is pleased with his progress thus far, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. After making his preseason debut against his former team, Aldridge said, “The night was [a] little overwhelming because it doesn’t really hit you until you really go put on the jersey and then you go play. I knew I was in San Antonio, but it doesn’t really hit you until you’re on the court trying to figure out how to run an offense again and things like that. But I think the process has been going well so far.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Pelicans Officially Sign Three For Camp

September 23rd, 2015 at 11:14am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans have formally signed Jeff Adrien, Chris Douglas-Roberts and New Zealand prospect Corey Webster, the team announced. The moves, which had been expected, give New Orleans 18 players with training camp set to begin this coming Tuesday.

Adrien is receiving a one-year deal for the minimum after splitting last season between the Timberwolves and China. The 29-year-old power forward again drew interest from Minnesota this summer, as well as from the Magic, Mavs, Timberwolves, Knicks, Hornets and Sixers, as Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports reported when he first broke the story of the deal and its details. It remains unclear just how much, if any, of Adrien’s salary will be guaranteed.

Douglas-Roberts, 28, returns to the NBA on a two-year minimum salary deal after sitting out since January, when the Celtics waived him following the trade that sent him to Boston from the Clippers. Marc Stein of ESPN.com first reported the deal between the Pelicans and the 28-year-old, while John Reid of The Times Picayune added that it’s non-guaranteed.

Webster, a 26-year-old who attended college in the U.S. at the former Lambuth University in Tennessee, spent last season playing in Serbia as well as his native New Zealand. Marc Hinton of stuff.co.nz first revealed the shooting guard’s three-year, non-guaranteed deal. It’s not clear if Webster signed for any more than the equivalent of the rookie minimum salary, though the length of the contract dictates that the team used a portion of its mid-level exception.

Only 13 Pelicans are known to have fully guaranteed contracts, ostensibly giving Adrien, Douglas-Roberts and Webster decent chances of sticking for opening night. Bryce Dejean-Jones and Sean Kilpatrick are headed to camp without full guarantees in their deals.

Pelicans, Chris Douglas-Roberts Agree To Deal

September 14th, 2015 at 3:16pm CST by Chuck Myron

3:16pm: The contract will be non-guaranteed, reports John Reid of The Times Picayune.

1:54pm: The Pelicans and Chris Douglas-Roberts have reached agreement on a two-year deal worth the minimum salary, league sources tell Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last week that the Pelicans had a keen interest in the free agent small forward.

Douglas-Roberts, 28, sat out the end of last season after the Celtics waived him in January. The Clippers had traded him to Boston shortly before that. The Anthony Jones client had seen little playing time in L.A., which signed him to a guaranteed one-year minimum-salary deal before the 2014/15, when he was coming off a strong performance for Charlotte.

New Orleans has deals with 16 players, including 13 that are fully guaranteed. One-year veteran Sean Kilpatrick and undrafted rookie Bryce Dejean-Jones have partially guaranteed deals, while New Zealand prospect Corey Webster will also reportedly be with the team in camp. All three are wing players, like Douglas-Roberts.

How large a role do you think Douglas-Roberts will play for the Pelicans this season? Leave a comment to let us know.

Pelicans Interested In Chris Douglas-Roberts

September 11th, 2015 at 8:40am CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans have keen interest in six-year veteran Chris Douglas-Roberts, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The 28-year-old has been out of the NBA since the Celtics waived him in January, shortly after his arrival via trade from the Clippers. The market has otherwise appeared scarce for the Anthony Jones client, despite his prominent role in the rotation for playoff-bound Charlotte in 2013/14.

A strained Achilles tendon helped curtial the impact that Douglas-Roberts had for the Clippers on a guaranteed minimum-salary contract this past season. He appeared in only 12 games, averaging 1.6 points in 8.6 minutes per contest. He put up 6.9 PPG in 20.7 MPG for Charlotte the season before, nailing 38.6% of his three-point attempts.

The client of agent Anthony Jones would give New Orleans another option at small forward, a trouble spot for the team over the past few seasons. The Pelicans are also eyeing Rasual Butler, whom they reportedly auditioned Wednesday, and they also reportedly worked out Corey Webster, a shooting guard prospect from New Zealand. New Orleans has 13 players on fully guaranteed contracts plus partially guaranteed deals with Sean Kilpatrick and Bryce Dejean-Jones, as our Pelicans roster page shows. Restricted free agent Norris Cole remains in limbo.

Do you think Douglas-Roberts can duplicate his season with Charlotte two years ago? Leave a comment to tell us.

Celtics Waive Chris Douglas-Roberts

January 18th, 2015 at 3:35pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Celtics have waived the recently acquired Chris Douglas-Roberts, the team announced, shortly after Boston president of basketball operations Danny Ainge broke the news to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald (Twitter link). CD-R came to the C’s on Thursday in the trade that shipped Austin Rivers to the Clippers. Fellow Herald scribe Mark Murphy reported at the time of the deal that Boston was likely to cut ties with the 28-year-old swingman.

Douglas-Roberts signed with the Clippers last summer after a solid 2013/14 season with the then-Bobcats, with whom he shot a career-high 38.6% from beyond the three-point arc. The former University of Memphis standout failed to crack the regular rotation in Los Angeles, however, as he averaged a career-low 8.6 minutes per night playing for the Clippers. It was reported that chemistry issues led L.A. to cut ties with Douglas-Roberts, but the six-year veteran denies that he was a negative presence in the locker room.

Unless Douglas-Roberts is claimed off of waivers by another club, the Celtics will be on the hook to pay the remainder of the $915,243 that he’s owed by the team this season. Even though he’s set to make slightly more than that figure this year, the league covers the additional amount owed to veterans of more than two seasons on minimum salary deals. The Celtics roster now stands at 14 players, one short of the league maximum.