Because Nick Calathes didn't do the Memphis Grizzlies any favors, the NBA didn't do the Grizzlies any favors, either.
Yahoo! Sports reported Friday evening that Calathes, the Grizzlies' backup point guard, has been suspended 20 games for testing positive for a banned substance.
The 25-year-old rookie had Tamoxifen in his system, according to sources who spoke to Yahoo! Sports. Calathes had been taking the substance as part of an athletic supplement.
According to Yahoo! Sports, Tamoxifen is also on the Major League Baseball and International Olympic Committee's banned substance list because it reduces the side effects of steroid use and increases testosterone production. The drug is generally used in treatments for breast cancer in women, the report added.
It said that NBA lab results found no traces of synthetic testosterone or performance-enhancing drugs. "There was no intent, no advantage gained here," a source told Yahoo! Sports.
No explanation had been given as to what purpose the substance serves as a supplement, leading to the question of why Calathes had been taking it in the first place.
Calathes averaged 16 ½ minutes per game in 71 games played for the Grizzlies as Mike Conley's primary backup. He averaged 4.9 points and 2.9 assists per game.
The Grizzlies now will rely on Beno Udrih, whom they pick up off waivers from the New York Knicks in February. Udrih has played a total of 55 minutes for the Grizzlies this season, according to NBA.SI.com, which could diminish his effectiveness in the postseason.
According to NBA.SI.com, Memphis' post-centric offense requires familiarity to operate from the point guard position, which Calathes has and Udrih does not.
Yahoo! Sports reported that representatives for both Calathes and the Grizzlies tried in vain to convince the league office that Calathes' positive test didn't violate the spirit or the intent of the joint drug testing policy that the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association agreed to put in place.
The 20-game suspension is a mandatory first-offense sentence for any steroid, PED or masking agent used under the guidelines of the NBA's Anti-Drug program. The second offense requires a 45-game suspension and the third offense is a dismissal from the league.
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