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From ESPN
Jan 26,2008
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3214792

Andersen to attempt comeback after drug suspension
Chris Andersen, who was "dismissed and disqualified" from the NBA and the New Orleans Hornets on Jan. 27, 2006, after testing positive for a prohibited substance, is eligible to apply for reinstatement beginning Sunday -- exactly two years after he was thrown out of the league.

If Andersen's application is granted, the Hornets would then have a 30-day exclusive window to tender him a contract for the remainder of the season. Sources have told ESPN.com that the Hornets are indeed quite interested in bringing Andersen back to a roster short on front-court depth.

Should the Hornets decline to sign him, Andersen would become an unrestricted free agent and could sign with any team.

When he was banished, Andersen was earning $3.5 million in the first year of a four-year, $14 million contract he had signed the previous offseason. If the Hornets want to re-sign him, they would have to tender him a contract for the remainder of the season equal to a prorated portion of his old salary. (If his salary had been above $5 million at the time of his suspension, the maximum the Hornets could have offered him for the rest of the season would have been a prorated portion of $5 million, which was the amount of the midlevel exception at that time.)

New Orleans has won 14 of 16 games to move atop the Western Conference, and it would stand to reason that they'd be interested in re-signing Andersen prior to the playoffs, adding an energy player to a front line with suspect depth behind starting big men Tyson Chandler and David West. The Hornets are nearly $5 million below the league's luxury tax threshold.

Nope. Not worth messing with the awsome chemistry right now sitting on top the Western Conference. He's not a difference maker.

From Boston.com
The Boston Globe
by Peter May
Jan 27,2008
http://www.boston.com/sports/basketball ... ?page=full

Second-chance points?
Drug violator takes shot at reinstatement

On the night of Jan. 25, 2006, before a capacity crowd at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City, the San Antonio Spurs cruised past the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, 84-68, a game utterly unremarkable save for one item that was not known at the time: It would be the Hornets' Chris Andersen's last game for at least two years.

more stories like thisAndersen played the type of game for which he had become well-known and reasonably well-compensated by NBA standards ($13 million over four years), accumulating 5 rebounds, 4 blocked shots, and 2 steals in 16 minutes off the bench. He had 1 point, missing all three of his field goal attempts and five of his six free throws. That season, his fifth in the NBA, he was averaging 5 points and 4.8 rebounds a game.

Two days later, Andersen was dismissed from the NBA for violating the league's drug policy. Under the terms of the policy, Andersen lost his contract (he was into the first year of the $13 million deal) and could not apply for reinstatement for two years. Tomorrow, a day after the two-year anniversary of his dismissal, the papers for his reinstatement will be delivered to both the NBA and the NBA Players Association. And Andersen, who is still only 29, will then wait to see what his fate will be.

Andersen has been working out diligently in Las Vegas and Denver, and has hardly been a wallflower while serving the suspension. He has attended several Nuggets games and at least one Hornets game this season. He completed a rehabilitation program in Malibu, Calif., and has said he hasn't had a drink or taken drugs since the suspension. He also developed a friendship with Kevin Garnett while working out in Las Vegas.

Andersen was the first player to be suspended under the drug program since Stanley Roberts in 1999 and is the first to file for reinstatement since Roy Tarpley, who was banned in 1995. Tarpley's request was denied, so Andersen could be the first to be suspended and then return and contribute.

Andersen's agent, Steven Heuman, confirmed by phone from Israel that the reinstatement papers will be submitted tomorrow and he is hoping for a quick (and favorable) decision. According to the CBA, what the league and Players Association decide is binding and cannot be appealed.

There's no denying Andersen's appeal and popularity among fans and teammates. The player universally known as "Birdman" has a Varejao-esque game, with the requisite amount of energy, athleticism, and enthusiasm. Said former teammate Andre Miller, "He brought a lot of energy to the game and he's a good guy to be around. He's going to get a second chance to prove himself and I know he's prepared.

"He'll be good for a team that's looking for a guy who can bring energy, athleticism, rebounding, hustle, and get the crowd involved. That's what he did when we played together in Denver."

The Hornets have the first crack at Andersen once his application is approved. They have 30 days in which to make an offer, and if they do, it will have to be no less than a one-year offer, prorated, for the same amount Andersen was making in 2005-06 (roughly $3.5 million).

The big issue is when that 30-day period begins. If the Hornets choose not to make an offer, then Andersen becomes an unrestricted free agent, whereupon all teams would have a crack at him and could use whatever exceptions they have. Realistically, if it comes to that, Andersen is looking at a veteran minimum offer, prorated, which works out to around $600,000.

The Hornets aren't tipping their hand. They do have roster space, and the money they would give to Andersen would not put them into Luxury Tax Land. It has generally been assumed that the Hornets will take a pass on Andersen, but with their surprising success this season, maybe they feel he can help. And he's an undeniable asset.

"We wish Chris the best of luck in his application for reinstatement to the league," Hornets GM Jeff Bower said in a statement. "We will monitor the process that is set forth by the NBA, but will have no further comment until their decision has been made."

For Andersen, that decision can't come soon enough.

Yes, I'd still love to have him back and the bench could probably use the jolt. I've always been fond of Birdman and I really do think he's realized that if he wants to be a professional he needs to act like one both on and off the floor.

Here's a nice read from the Denver Post; it was written by Benjamin Hochman, who up until recently covered the Hornets for the Times-Picayune.

Denver Post wrote:Time for second chance

After completing a drug treatment program in Malibu, Calif., Andersen spent much of the past two years in Denver and Las Vegas, where he worked out with Joe Abunassar, a renowned basketball trainer.

During the summer of 2007, Andersen played eight weeks of intense pickup basketball, guarding the likes of Kevin Garnett and Jermaine O'Neal. Andersen played like he belonged.

It's hard to gauge how well the 29-year-old Andersen will play if reinstated. But Abunassar is making sure Andersen is as prepared as possible.

"He's maintained his speed, athleticism, aggressiveness, leaping ability," Abunassar said. "Those are things we monitor very carefully, to make sure he doesn't get too big (in the weight room) that he'd lose the bounciness that makes him so special. And we've done a lot of work on the court.

"I haven't known him for his whole basketball career, but I find it hard to believe he's ever worked harder than for this chance to get back."

Perseverance has brought perspective. Or maybe it's the other way around. Birdman still is the omnipresent goofball, the life of the party