Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said Sunday he has spoken to Blazers coach Chauncey Billups since he was arrested Thursday as part of federal investigations into illegal sports betting and rigged poker games.

Mafiosos have a “slow process” for ensnaring otherwise honest people into their clutches, he explained, adding Chauncey Billups and Terry Rozier could have been groomed and ultimately

Former Pistons great Chauncey Billups was arrested Thursday for allegedly helping run rigged high-stakes poker games.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Joseph Nocella and FBI Director Kash Patel detailed the poker scheme. They described the rigged poker game as a wide-ranging cheating operation centered in the New York area run by the Bonanno, Gambino, Lucchese, and Genovese crime families.

Chauncey Billups, investigators allege, was known as a “face card.” He and other former professional athletes were used to attract victims to the poker games.

Clippers coach Tyronn Lue reportedly tied to the same Mafia-backed rigged poker scandal as Chauncey Billups in Las Vegas.

Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is accused of fixing an NBA game in addition to his already-reported involvement in a Mafia-backed poker scam.