New NBA player’s union president Chris Paul, the all-star point guard of the Los Angeles Clippers, planned to prepare “a battle plan to fight any league proposal for HGH testing” as one of his first acts as president, according to TMZ.
That probably helps explain why the NBA and the player’s union aren’t close to reaching any kind of deal regarding HGH testing in the league. Commissioner David Stern, who will be vacating his post and leaving Adam Silver in charge, hoped to have some sort of testing plan in place by his departures, but according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, that seems like a long shot.
"Officials from the league office and National Basketball Players Association met earlier this month in New York to continue discussions on the matter, but a person familiar with the talks told CBSSports.com, “Nothing is anywhere near being agreed to.” The negotiations are ongoing, but the gap may be too wide to close in time for a policy to be in place in time for the start of the regular season."
The NBA hasn’t had many PED scandals. Former Orlando Magic and current Miami Heat forward Rashard Lewis got a PED suspension in 2009. Magic forward Hedo Turkoglu is the last player to get suspended for PEDs.