Pacers guard Tyreke Evans dismissed from NBA for two years

Tyreke Evans, who played for the Indiana Pacers this season, has been "dismissed and disqualified" from the NBA for two years for violating the league's anti-drug program, according to a news release from the league.

Evans, 29, averaged 10.2 points per game with the Pacers. He was suspended for one game early in the season for tardiness and missed games later in the season for personal reasons.

Evans' agent did not immediately respond to a voicemail.

He is a free agent and expressed interest in returning to the Pacers after they were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The Pacers released the following statement:

"The Indiana Pacers were informed Friday by the NBA that Tyreke Evans has been dismissed from the league for a violation of the league’s anti-drug policy.  

"We take these matters seriously and will reach out to Tyreke to offer our support." 

The NBA conducts random testing of its players. There are three programs according to the league's drug policy: Drugs of abuse, marijuana and performance-enhancing drugs. With no previous suspension, Evans violated the policy with a "drug of abuse" based on the league's collective bargaining agreement. 

There are two stages for drugs of abuse, a first-time patient enters Stage 1 (and receives his salary) and a second positive test causes a player to enter Stage 2. According to the policy, a player is dismissed if he's "already completed Stage 2." It also states, "Players who fail to comply with their program are suspended in Stage 1 and dismissed from the league in Stage 2."

The NBA's list of drugs of abuse includes: amphetamines and similar drugs, cocaine, LSD and opiates such as heroin, codeine, morphine, and PCP. Marijuana is not a drug of abuse, according to the NBA's drug policy.

The last player suspended under this policy was O.J. Mayo on July 1, 2016. According to a Sports Illustrated story, Mayo "acknowledged ... abusing a prescription pain medication that triggered his two-year ban."

Evans was signed to give the Pacers another player that could create his own shot besides Victor Oladipo. But Oladipo suffered a season-ending injury in January and Evans was inconsistent coming off the bench throughout the regular season. But he flashed his ability in the postseason. While the Pacers' offense struggled throughout their first round series, Evans averaged 15.3 points on 55.0 percent shooting on 3s and 4.3 rebounds in the four-game sweep by the Celtics.