
Indiana Pacers free agent forward Tyreke Evans has been “dismissed and disqualified” from the NBA, barring him from participating in the league until he is eligible to apply for reinstatement in two years. The penalty issued to Evans is not one given for substances such as marijuana or performance-enhancing drugs, but instead for what the league deems as “drugs of abuse”. The ban given to Evans is similar to the ones issued to O. J. Mayo in 2016 and Chris Andersen in 2006.
Tyreke Evans tested positive for "drugs of abuse." According to ESPN (when Chris Andersen was dismissed for this), "The drugs on that list are amphetamine and its analogs, which include methamphetamine; cocaine; LSD; opiates, including heroin, codeine and morphine; and PCP."
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) May 17, 2019
Statement on Tyreke Evans: https://t.co/0n2WI4zN3G pic.twitter.com/F7d2tFLrD8
— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) May 17, 2019
Tyreke Evans dismissed and DQ’d from the NBA pic.twitter.com/QIbzDMfjaO
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) May 17, 2019
A nine-year veteran of the NBA, Tyreke Evans was the fourth-overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, subsequently winning the 2010 NBA Rookie of the Year, and has since appeared for the Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, Memphis Grizzlies and Indiana Pacers. Joining the Pacers in 2018, Evans appeared in 69 games regular season games, averaging 10.2 points and 2.9 assists per game and was set to enter into free agency this summer.