Zach Randolph could be banned by NBA if convicted of felony marijuana charge

Former Memphis Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph could face similar penalties ex-teammate O.J. Mayo received in terms of being banned from the NBA for violation of the league's anti-drug policy.

Randolph was arrested Wednesday and charged with “intent to sell” marijuana in Los Angeles. TMZ reported it was two pounds of marijuana.

The league’s collective bargaining agreement with the players’ association says a player will be dismissed and disqualified from the NBA if he is convicted of, or pleads guilty, no contest or nolo contendere to, a crime involving the felony distribution of marijuana.

Mayo was dismissed and disqualified from the NBA in 2016 for violating the terms of the league's anti-drug program, the first player to receive that punishment in a decade.

Mayo, 29, spent his last three NBA seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks. He played four seasons for the Grizzlies and one for the Dallas Mavericks before joining the Bucks.

He averaged 7.8 points in 41 games during the 2015-16 campaign before he was banned. Mayo was the third overall draft pick in 2008, and Memphis acquired his rights in exchange for the rights to Kevin Love.

MORE ON Z-BO'S ARREST

► Grizzlies won't regret retiring Z-Bo's number

► Zach Randolph's weed arrest in Los Angeles: What we know

► Calkins: Randolph had two pounds of weed? That's a problem if so

► Randolph charged with possession of marijuana with intent to sell

Mayo failed drug tests with Memphis and Milwaukee and was banned following a third positive test.

The list of drugs of abuse in the NBA policy includes amphetamines, cocaine, LSD and opiates such as heroin, codeine and morphine.

Before Mayo, the last NBA player to receive the penalty was Chris “Birdman” Andersen in January 2006, when he was playing for the New Orleans Hornets. He was reinstated in March 2008 and then won a championship with Miami in 2013.

Neither Randolph nor his agent, Raymond Brothers, returned phone calls Friday to The Commercial Appeal. Randolph was released on Thursday.

“The charges are false and misleading,” Brothers told The Associated Press on Thursday. “We’re looking at all options to resolve this matter.”

LAPD spokeswoman Liliana Preciado said Randolph was among a large crowd hanging out at 112th Street and Zamora at the Nickerson Gardens housing project in Watts. Officers on patrol saw the crowd drinking, smoking marijuana and blocking the streets in the area of the housing project, she said.

The officers called for backup when the large crowd grew and began throwing rocks and bottles. She said five patrol cars and a sheriff's vehicle ended up with smashed windows and slashed tires.

Police recovered two guns, cash, impounded two vehicles and seized drugs, including during the arrests, Preciado said.

Despite being charged with suspicion of possession of marijuana for sale, Randolph was all smiles leaving the jail Thursday in a video on TMZ Sports.

This isn't Randoplh's first brush with the law since he signed with the Grizzlies in 2009.

Randolph was named in a 2011 lawsuit alleging he had friends assault a drug dealer at his home in Portland because the dealer was charging too much for marijuana. Randolph was never charged.

In 2010, police found marijuana and ammunition in a car registered to Randolph, but he was never charged.

Last year, a woman said she “made up” allegations that Randolph assaulted her in a Los Angeles hotel room as part of an extortion attempt. He was never charged.

Randolph is no longer a Grizzly after having played the past eight seasons in Memphis. Randolph signed a two-year, $24-million deal with the Sacramento Kings this summer. The Grizzlies have said they will retire Randolph’s No. 50 jersey in the future.