NEW YORK—The NBA reinstated Chris Andersen from a drug suspension on Tuesday, and the New Orleans Hornets will have the first chance to sign their former player.
Andersen was kicked out on Jan. 27, 2006, for violating the league’s drug policy. Since he was “dismissed and disqualified” for a specific violation, he was forced to wait two years to apply for reinstatement.
Andersen’s rights belong to the Hornets, provided they offer him a contract in the next 30 days, which they are expected to do. If not, Andersen would become an unrestricted free agent.
“We were always more concerned with Chris Andersen the person rather than Chris Andersen the player and are pleased that he has taken the appropriate measures to get himself reinstated by the NBA,” general manager Jeff Bower said in a statement.
“We will now begin the process of getting him back on the court and back in a Hornets uniform as quickly as possible.”
Andersen averaged 5.0 points for New Orleans in the 2005-06 season, his fifth in the NBA, before becoming the first player thrown out for drugs since Stanley Roberts in 1999. The 6-foot-10 forward played three seasons with Denver before joining the Hornets.
Neither the NBA nor the players’ union is allowed to comment on the specifics of a drug test, but according the collective bargaining agreement, a player can only be disqualified for a fourth positive test for performance-enhancing drugs, or a first positive test for “drugs of abuse.”
Andersen has not previously been suspended for testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The drugs on the “drugs of abuse” list are amphetamine and its analogs, which include methamphetamine; cocaine; LSD; opiates, including heroin, codeine and morphine; and PCP.
