Birdman, keep them drugs in the bushes

Chris Andersen, like current Buck Bobby Simmons, was a poster child for the NBDL's beginnings. Since the beginning of this season, NBA teams are allowed to send their youngest, most inexperienced players to the Development League so that they can work on their skills, as opposed to having them sit on the bench for long stretches of NBA games because they're not good enough to contribute yet (think Darko Milicic). The pro team retains their players' rights the whole time, and like baseball's minor leagues, they can call them back into the NBA when they feel they've been polished enough in the NBDL. But in previous years, the D-League had no major affliations to the pros, rather it was just a collective of unimportant cities with teams of dudes hoping they could get a break and get noticed. Andersen was the 1st to ever accomplish that feat, emerging out of Fayetteville, North Carolina to find a home with the Denver Nuggets in 2001, where he would spend 3 seasons. Though playing in limited minutes, he often wowed fans with his high-energy blocks and dunks, the true trademarks of a tall guy with no real skill set. Dubbed the "Birdman" for his leaping ability (and not for his ability to slang kilos of cocaine, at least not originally), he played in 71 games in '03, when rookie Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets to the playoffs for the 1st time since the Mutumbo-era.

Unfortunately, the Nuggets wanted to continue being a playoff contender, so Andersen was not in their future plans. He would soon find a home with the New Orleans Hornets, where he took the "Birdman" name to new heights by participating in the '05 Dunk Contest, and embarrassing himself by attempting to throw an alley-oop to himself from half-court, continuously missing horribly to the point that the crowd came to genuinely hate his guts. After taking 8 attempts to successfully pull off the dunk, its a marvel that the league didn't test him for substance abuse that night. He would move past that fork in the road and go on to add a new facet to his "Birdman" persona, growing his hair out into what would resemble that of a lion's mane, barely subdued by his headband. Andersen looked like a rock star, and apparently, partied like one too.

The NBA's drug policy enforces an immediate 2-year suspension for a player after one positive test for a "drug of abuse", which includes amphetamines, cocaine, LSD, opiates (heroin, codeine, morphine) and PCP. Andersen's 2-year suspension this past week will leave a gaping hole in the Hornets' front line, but more so, a gaping hole in our hearts. The NBA's confidentiality agreement prevents them from commenting on the specifics of Andersen's test; however, this Media Day photo of Andersen seems to spell it all out quite clearly.



Stay up, Birdman. In the words of Mr. Mister:

Take these broken wings...
You've got to learn to fly...
Learn to live so free...