NBA Bans Houston’s Lloyd, Wiggins After Pair Fail Cocaine Test

Lewis Lloyd and Mitchell Wiggins of the Houston Rockets on Tuesday became the third and fourth National Basketball Assn. players to be banned from the league for using cocaine.

Commissioner David Stern said the two were tested Saturday after the league was presented with evidence of drug use “that would be adequate to cause a magistrate to issue a search warrant.”

Lloyd and Wiggins join Micheal Ray Richardson of the New Jersey Nets and John Drew, formerly of the Utah Jazz, as players banished after failing drug tests.

However, Richardson and Drew were banned as “three-time losers” under provisions of the drug agreement that a player can be treated without penalty if he comes forward voluntarily.

Lloyd and Wiggins did not volunteer for treatment, so they do not get a second chance.

“They had plenty of chances to come forward,” Stern said. “Our anti-drug program is not passive. We are constantly counseling all the players about the treatment programs available to them.”

Rocket Coach Bill Fitch said the situation had taught him a lot about lying.

“They’ll look you straight in the eye every time and deny it. That’s frustrating,” he said.

Stern would not elaborate on the nature of the evidence or how the NBA got it, saying only that “the NBA has security personnel all over the country.”

Stern said Tuesday’s developments reaffirm the effectiveness of the drug program. He said he was disappointed, but “the program is working the way we expected it would and hoped it wouldn’t.”

Lloyd and Wiggins are the second and third guards the Rockets have lost to drugs in the past year. John Lucas, a starter who was among the league’s assist leaders, was cut by the Rockets last season.

Stern said he is not concerned about how the Rockets will handle their sudden depth problem in the backcourt.

“Our drug agreement is enforced without regard to the consequences to the teams involved,” he said.

Fitch, when asked if he suspected either player was using drugs, said: “Now, you can go back and second guess just like replaying a ballgame and see things you might have overlooked. All I can say about Mitch and Lew is if we were able to test them, we could help, sit down and talk.

“No one has ever come up to me and said I know this for sure. As long as you are dealing in maybes and then you talk to a person who has the ability to lie, that’s what is so frustrating.”

Fitch, asked the effect the ban would have on his Rockets, said it would be “long-lasting.”

“I think they (the team) were deeply concerned,” he said. “Any time you have a close-knit group, this has an effect. It was no big secret. They knew they (Lloyd and Wiggins) had been tested and they knew the results were coming in. I think there was a feeling in that room that will be long-lasting.

“You’ve got to play the cards you’re dealt. It’s not the type of thing that should happen to any ballclub. You’ve got to turn a negative into a positive. I think our club will respond in a positive way.”

Rocket players said before Tuesday night’s game against the Phoenix Suns that the loss of Lloyd and Wiggins was the latest blow in a difficult season.

“This team has faced adversity all year,” Dirk Minniefield said. “This is one more bitter pill we have to swallow. It’s going to make us stronger as a group. We have to pull ourselves together.”

Forward Jim Petersen said the suspensions also were a personal tragedy for the Rockets.

“I’m not thinking about it from a basketball standpoint. I’m thinking from a human standpoint,” he said. “These are two good people. I pray to God they can deal with it and get on with their lives. It’s too bad they can’t learn from experience and history.”

The 6-foot 6-inch Lloyd started every game for Houston last season but was a disappointment when the Rockets lost in the NBA finals against Boston. He averaged 16.9 points a game during the season, 7.7 against the Celtics.

Lloyd lost his starting spot to Wiggins at the beginning of this season, but when the Rockets and Wiggins slumped, Lloyd regained the starting spot.

Before Tuesday, he had averaged 20 points a game over the last six games, of which the Rockets won five. Lloyd averaged 12.4 points from the field for the season, and Wiggins 11.1.