The NBA announced that Pacers guard Tyreke Evans has been dismissed and disqualified from the NBA for violating the terms of the NBA and NBPA’s Anti-Drug Program. Evans is eligible to apply for reinstatement in two years.
With less than a month left of the 2018-19 campaign, it’s unlikely we see Evans back on an NBA court before the 2021-22 season.
After a reinvigorating career season in Memphis in 2017-18, in which Evans averaged 19.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists on 48 percent shooting, that guard had a down season in Indiana. Evans’ averages plummeted across the board in 2018-19, down to 10.2 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.4 assists on 40 percent from the field.
Evans was on deck to be an unrestricted free agent this summer after inking a one-year, $12.4 million deal last summer. Now, that will have to wait.
The most notable modern day precedent for this type of situation would be O.J. Mayo. In the summer of 2016, then-Bucks guard Mayo was suspended for two seasons for violating the same program. He was eligible to return to the league last summer but hasn’t yet made a return.
