The birthday boy should have been talking about life as a new 35-year-old or about returning to his old stomping grounds in Orlando, Florida, fresh off a 28-point opening night Wednesday against the Pistons.
Instead, Bulls big man Nikola Vucevic was caught up in the only story suffocating the NBA right now.
One day after Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, Heat guard Terry Rozier and former Cavaliers player/assistant coach Damon Jones were arrested as part of an investigation related to illegal sports betting and Mafia-backed rigged poker games, the rest of the league was speaking out.
Not that there was much of a choice, considering the magnitude of the situation the NBA is facing.
‘‘It’s unfortunate to see that happening in our league,’’ Vucevic said Friday. ‘‘Innocent until proven guilty, so I’m not going to go too much into that. We don’t know what’s going to happen in the investigation, but I think in general gambling is a big problem. Not only here but worldwide. I think now that it’s gotten into sports here, a lot of people are involved in it, a lot of people gamble and, unfortunately, a lot of people get stuck in it. And it’s hard to get out.
‘‘To go on your phone, all you need to do is download the app. We as players feel it a lot when we step on the court. Nowadays, you hear more. Before, it used to be, ‘Hey, Vooch, get a win!’ Now it’s like, ‘Hey, my parlay is 10 rebounds. I need 10 boards.’ Or ‘Hey, my parlay is 15 points.’ You come out of a timeout and hear people say that. A lot of times you turn, and it’s, like, 14-, 15-year-old kids. Honestly, it pisses me off because it’s disrespectful to the game.’’
It’s a trend Vucevic brought up last season, and he only sees it getting worse.
‘‘We put so much work in, try to do the right thing, put a good product on the court and play the right way,’’ he said. ‘‘And people focus on if I’m gonna get 10 rebounds or not. It’s very unfortunate. Even back home [Vucevic was raised in Belgium and Montenegro], there are a lot of places where you can gamble on sports. So, yeah, it’s a big problem for the world. It’s something the NBA is going to have to look at and try and fix it as much as possible.’’
It’s not as though the NBA hasn’t tried. Across all major professional sports, there are annual meetings between the leagues and players about the dangers of gambling. There are daily reminders with signs in the locker room. The information is given and stressed.
‘‘Nowadays, you have to be even more careful because you don’t know who will come to you and ask, like, ‘Hey, is Coby [White] back [from injury]?’ And you say, ‘No, he’s not,’ not even thinking they’ll use something out of it,’’ Vucevic said. ‘‘You get caught into it. It’s a big problem.’’
And a problem that likely won’t be going away anytime soon. According to FBI Director Kash Patel, the three former NBA players were among 34 people arrested in operations that had been going on for years and involved ‘‘tens of millions of dollars.’’
So now it’s a waiting game to see how long the investigation lasts and whether other names come out of it.
‘‘I was really surprised and saddened by all of it,’’ Bulls head coach Billy Donovan said. ‘‘It’s sad that they’re dealing with it personally as human beings and the league is dealing with it, as well.’’