Tyreke Evans now has a path back to the NBA after the league reinstated him following his drug ban in 2019, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Evans, who last played for the Indiana Pacers during the 2018-19 season, has been out of the league ever since he had been found to violate the NBA and NBPA's anti-drug policy. He was eligible to be reinstated last year, but as reported in late December, the process of reinstatement is quite lengthy and needs the approval of the league and the players' association.
The NBA is reinstating guard Tyreke Evans, sources tell ESPN. He was suspended from the league in 2019 with a drug ban.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 14, 2022
Furthermore, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee, players banned for drugs need to “meet certain treatment and rehabilitation requirements before he can be reinstated.”
“For example, a player expelled for a drug of abuse must undergo weekly drug testing without testing positive for 12 months prior to the submission of his application for reinstatement.”
Clearly, after the long wait, Tyreke Evans has met all these requirements. Now, the only question is how ready he is when it comes to playing after over two and half seasons without NBA basketball. His conditioning will be key if he wants to land a job back in the NBA.
At 32 years old, he certainly still has a lot left in the tank. He has career averages of 15.7 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.8 assists, so history suggests he could provide bench scoring and an all-around game to any team if given the chance.
Evans won Rookie of the Year in the 2009-10 season, during which he also had the best scoring averages of his career. He put up 20.1 points on 45.8 percent shooting for the Sacramento Kings. His next best scoring marks came in 2017-18 when he averaged 19.1 points on 45.2 percent shooting from the field and 39.9 percent from deep–his best of his career.
It is unknown if any team will be interested in signing the veteran guard, but if he is unable to land on an NBA franchise for the remainder of 2021-22, he still has a chance in the offseason where there should be plenty of teams looking for depth. Evans won't turn 33 until September and if he proves he is far from being done, he might just get the shot he needs.
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