After spending most of the 2022-23 season doing television, Tristan Thompson joined the Los Angeles Lakers late in the season and got some run in the playoffs as a big body to try and slow down Nikola Jokic.
That performance earned him a look in free agency from his longtime team the Cleveland Cavaliers, who signed him this summer to provide some depth behind Evan Mobley and Jarrett Allen. Thompson somewhat surprisingly became a part of the regular rotation, averaging 3.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 12.4 minutes per game in 36 appearances this season. However, it appears his ability to be spry at 32 fresh off a season mostly doing TV work has been aided by some banned substances, as the league announced on Tuesday that Thompson would serve a 25-game suspension for a failed drug test.
The following was released by the NBA: pic.twitter.com/oqNXP7Zvak
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) January 23, 2024
A quick Google search tells me that Ibutamoren is a growth hormone stimulant that helps build lean mass and SARM LGD-4033 is an androgen receptive modulator that helps with building muscle. Unsurprisingly, those are on the NBA’s banned substance list and Thompson testing positive for them will take him out of the Cavs rotation for the next couple months. We’ll see if that prompts the Cavs to go look for some center depth at the trade deadline or on the free agent/buyout market, as they now are a bit thinner in their frontcourt.
