Cheech & Chong

Former Kansas Stars Mario Chalmers and Darrell Arthur were sent home from the NBA’s mandatory rookie transition program on Wednesday for breaking unspecified league rules.

The rookie seminar is held annually and is required for first-year players. The program, geared at helping incoming rookies adjust to life in the NBA, includes lectures on money management, drug use and gambling.

The NBA has confirmed the dismissal of Chalmers and Arthur but has declined to offer any explanation. But that hasn’t kept media outlets around the country from making statistically sound guesses about what went down.

Sports Illustrated is reporting that the rookies were caught with marijuana in their room on Tuesday night. The New York Times is reporting that the players had women in there. ESPN is saying they were busted with both.

Whatever unacceptable good time Chalmers and Arthur were having, two things are for certain: 1) what was happening in their hotel room was may more interesting than what was going down at Dark Side’s place on Tuesday night; and 2) Chalmers and Arthur are already way ahead of all the other rookies when it comes to acting like NBA players.

We mean honestly, If they weren’t smoking a joint or partying with groupies, how could we even be sure they really are professional basketball players?

Chalmers and Arthur became the first rookies to be kicked out of the orientation program since Ron Artest in 1999. And while Chalmers and Arthur are off to a strong start, it will take a lot more than a couple of tramps and a dimebag before anyone will start comparing their body of work to the kind of elite thuggery Artest has put up over the course of his career. But that’s really only fair since we’re pretty sure Ron wakes up in the morning by committing a felony.

The speculation has already begun on what further punishment the players will be subject to, which could include fines and suspensions to start off the season. The players will also be required to repeat the rookie program, which isn’t really that much of a punishment at all, because from what Chalmers and Arthur tell us, that thing is a blast!

For three different stories featuring the same cast, visit the New York Times, Sports Illustrated and ESPN.