Former Mavs Among 18 Arrested in NBA Welfare Scandal

According to a stunning Thursday morning report, 18 former NBA players have been arrested and charged federally for defrauding the NBA’s Health and Welfare Benefit Plan … and that list unfortunately includes a couple of former Dallas Mavericks.

Antoine Wright, Chris Douglas-Roberts (who — fun fact — apparently goes by the name “Supreme Bey,” according to the official legal papers) and Greg Smith are the former Mavs mentioned in connection with this NBA welfare scandal, which according to the report scammed the system to the tune of $4 million, officials said.

The other defendants include Terrence Williams, Alan Anderson, Anthony Allen, Desiree Allen, Shannon Brown, William Bynum, Ronald Glen "Big Baby" Davis, Melvin Ely, Jamario Moon, Darius Miles, Milton Palacio, Ruben Patterson, Eddie Robinson, Sebastian Telfair, Charles Watson Jr. and Anthony Wroten.

Those charged face one count of conspiracy to commit health care and wire fraud.

As it relates to the Dallas Mavs? It does not. None of the trio of guys who once played in Dallas had long enough stints here for this connection to mean anything much more than just being an unfortunate coincidence,but when you see a report like that come out, you can’t help but recognize the familiar Mavs-related names you’ve learned over the years.

Douglas-Roberts (2012-2013) and Smith (2014-2015) only played one season each with Dallas, totaling just 48 games between both of them. Wright spent two seasons in Dallas (2007-2009) after being a part of the trade from the New Jersey Nets that brought Jason Kidd back for his second Mavs stint that helped lead to a championship in 2011.

Other notable names from the scandal include: Memphis Grizzlies defensive legend Tony Allen, Darius Miles, Sebastian Telfair, Jamario Moon, Shannon Brown and Boston fan favorite Glen “Big Baby” Davis.