The Los Angeles Lakers are one of multiple NBA teams that have been asked to surrender “documents and records” to the league as part of an ongoing investigation into illegal gambling operations, The Athletic and ESPN reported Sunday.
ESPN reported that Mike Mancias, an assistant trainer, and Randy Mims, an executive administrator, are among roughly a dozen Lakers employees who are cooperating with the investigation.
Being contacted as part of the investigation does not necessarily imply wrongdoing.
“The NBA engaged an independent law firm to investigate the allegations in the indictment once it was made public,” a league spokesperson told multiple outlets in a statement. “As is standard in these kinds of investigations, a number of different individuals and organizations were asked to preserve documents and records. Everyone has been fully cooperative.”
The Lakers may be a team of interest due to the presence of LeBron James, now in his seventh season with the organization.
When a federal indictment over illicit gambling took the NBA by surprise last month, among the people arrested were former player and assistant coach Damon Jones, a friend of James’ who was accused of selling (or attempting to sell) non-public information to bettors that James would sit out a game against the Milwaukee Bucks due to injury during the 2022-23 season.
The gambling rings have also resulted in the arrests of Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Bilups, allegedly involved in rigged poker games, and Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, who was accused of tipping off longtime friend Deniro Laster that he planned to leave a game for the Charlotte Hornets early by feigning an injury. Laster and other conspirators then used that knowledge to “place and direct more than $200,000 in wagers predicting Rozier’s ‘under’ statistics (i.e., that Rozier would underperform),” according to a news release from the Department of Justice.
