AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan has defended the severity of the ban handed to Greater Western Sydneys Lachie Whitfield.The former No.1 draft pick will miss the first seven games of the 2017 season after accepting a six-month AFL ban on Tuesday.The fallout was more far-reaching for former Giants staffers - football boss Graeme Allan and welfare manager Craig Lambert - who were banned for 12 months.The trio was investigated after Whitfield spent three days at Lamberts house, with the knowledge of Allan, in May last year in an alleged bid to avoid a possible drug test, which is a violation of the anti-doping code.However, in a move ticked off by ASADA, the AFL instead handed bans down for a breach of its own rule 2.3 concerning conduct unbecoming.All three had maintained throughout that Whitfield was simply seeking help as he went through a messy relationship break-up.I think when you get a six-month suspension thats acknowledgement that you have transgressed and you have behaved in a way that wasnt right, McLachlan said.I think six months is a reasonably significant suspension.Hes a ... kid who took advice from his supervisors, the people who were looking after him, so theres a different allocation of responsibility.Whitfield will be barred from using GWS facilities for four months before returning to train for the final two months of his ban while not being allowed to play.He will be cleared to return in the Giants round eight clash against Collingwood at Spotless Stadium.Allan, who was installed as general manager of football at Collingwood in August, quit his post in response to the suspension.Lambert has since moved on to a similar post with Brisbane and will miss the entire 2017 season.In a damning assessment, the AFL investigation found Whitfield sent incriminating text messages to a third party, the contents of which he subsequently denied.In those texts he stated he had taken illicit drugs, was staying at Lamberts house to avoid ASADA drug testers and was doing so under instruction from Allan and Lambert, who feared the drugs may have been laced with performance-enhancing substances.Much harsher bans could have been brought into play if ASADA had pursued the trio for a breach of the anti-doping code.McLachlan said there was no evidence or even allegations Whitfield had anything to do with performance-enhancing drugs, with the league taking into account that all three men had elected to plead guilty and not contest the charges.The league is yet to decide whether GWS will be penalised with a loss of draft picks, with AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon to consider that possibility in the coming days.The Giants, however, believe their club is not at fault over the issue.It has been established that former senior staff acted outside of their authority in managing circumstances and taking matters into their own hands, a club statement read.Their handling of the matter was independent of the club and did not conform with the clearly established club protocols, thus in no way relating to a governance failure on behalf of the club. 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That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we pose a question to a rotating panel of ESPN fantasy basketball experts to gauge their thoughts on a hot topic. Todays contributors are ESPN NBA Insider Bradford Doolittle and ESPN Fantasys Kyle Soppe and Joe Kaiser.While Klay Thompsons ridiculous 60 points in 29 minutes grabbed all of Mondays headlines, Memphis Grizzlies guard Troy Daniels continued his own hot scoring streak, racking up 29 points and 7 3-pointers against the New Orleans Pelicans. Injuries have opened up a larger role for the journeyman, who has responded with 19, 19, 31 and 29 points with a total of 20 3s over his past four outings. Is his scoring legit? Should fantasy owners add him for the short or long term?Bradford Doolittle: The scoring and shooting are legit. Daniels has been one of the best long-range shooters in the NBA for a couple of years. Unfortunately, the rest of his game is limited enough that hes always been a third-stringer. The instant-offense role the Grizzlies have been using him in is his ideal gig, and hopefully, hes opened some eyes with his outburst. There is nothing hes done the last four games that is out of line with his career numbers except for the key factor: Hes played more.As the Grizzlies gradually get healthier, Daniels role will become more inconsistent. Hes a poor defender, doesnt make plays well enough for more than spot duty at point guard and can swing to small forward only in very small lineups. However, Memphis short-term injury prognosis is ugly enough that they should continue to lean on Daniels for scoring. Even as they get guys back, it would be surprising if Daniels started gettinng DNPs once again, but his court time will be limited enough that he wont be an impact producer.dddddddddddd.Kyle Soppe: As is always the case, the true answer lies somewhere in the middle. No, Daniels isnt Stephen Curry-lite after scoring 60 points in his last two games, but the fantasy relevance is here to stay ... in the right situation. Daniels never has been given an extended opportunity, but in limited playing time, he has yet to show much promise in non-scoring categories.It doesnt help his case that the Grizzlies are functioning as the third-slowest offense, so counting on volume is dangerous to say the least. That said, the bump in playing time makes Daniels a strong contributor in points and 3-pointers for the foreseeable future. Daniels is an add in all formats, but expectations need to be tempered a bit -- there are high peaks and low valleys to come.Joe Kaiser: The scoring is legit. Anyone who can hit seven 3s in an NBA game has to be taken seriously as a shooter and a scorer, and Daniels always was regarded highly for his 3-point shooting while in college at VCU.What this all comes down to is opportunity, though. Right now, the minutes are there for Daniels (he played 44 minutes in the overtime win over the Pelicans on Monday), but as soon as James Ennis, Chandler Parsons, Vince Carter and Mike Conley return, you can expect Daniels to play fewer than 20 minutes a game off the bench. The right thing to do is ride him while you can right now, and be prepared to sell high if you get the chance. ' ' '