There have been a few suspensions in the NBA this season for banned substances. Phoenix’s DeAndre Ayton and Atlanta’s John Collins were the latest, and Jodie Meeks still can’t play because he tested positive last season.
Like Meeks, there’s one other player who has yet to play in a 2019-20 game as a result of a suspension for violating the NBA’s banned substance policy: Nets forward Wilson Chandler, who Brooklyn acquired in the offseason — in addition to a star or two.
Chandler is respected across the league because of his willingness to do whatever is needed of him — which helps make him a versatile defender. But a 25-game suspension for testing positive for the performance-enhancing drug Ipamorelin is an odd look for someone viewed as lead-by-example-type.
The veteran apologized after he received the suspension and has received support along the way. But there has been one person weighing him down: himself.
So much so that Chandler expressed to Malika Andrews of ESPN at one point during his suspension he thought this would mark the end of his playing career:
I just thought, ‘This has to be it.’ And that is scary in itself — especially to go out and have the last thing be a suspension.
Even though Chandler felt like he was “being banished” throughout the process, Kenny Atkinson and Chandler’s teammates were there for him throughout the process:
They ride with me. Everybody was real supportive. They could’ve cut me a long time ago.
Now Chandler has the chance to prove the Nets were right to keep their faith in him. And he’ll be put to the test right away when the Nets face the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.
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