Douglas County (Colo.) Sheriff's Office Internet Crimes Against Children investigators seized property from Andersen's home in Larkspur, about 40 miles south of Denver, on Thursday.
Andersen has not been arrested in connection with the investigation and an arrest is not imminent, sheriff's spokeswoman Deborah Sherman said, adding it typically takes several weeks to a month for investigators to collect evidence from the seized items.
Deputies did say they have been investigating Andersen since February 2012, on a referral from a California law-enforcement agency. The unit investigating Andersen covers child pornography, Internet luring and child predator.
Andersen answered the door at his home and let deputies in, Sherman said.
"He did cooperate. He spoke with deputies," she said.
She would not provide details about any allegations and said the search warrant had been sealed.
Sherman said items typically seized by the unit include computers, hard drives, and thumb drives, although she said she could not provide details on what items were seized from Andersen's home, citing the ongoing investigation.
KUSA-TV reported investigators said the evidence is being taken to the FBI's regional computer forensics lab, which looks at cellphones, cameras and computers.
Mark Bryant, who serves as Andersen's agent and attorney, told The Associated Press: "At this time, I respect the process and I have no further comment to protect the integrity of everyone involved. We'll proceed from there."
A message left at Andersen's home wasn't immediately returned.
The Nuggets issued the following statement:
"The Denver Nuggets are aware of today's media reports involving forward/center Chris Andersen. It involves a legal investigation and we are awaiting further details. Chris has been excused from all team-related activities indefinitely as he deals with the reported investigation. Per team policy, the Nuggets will not comment on any ongoing legal circumstance involving any player or employee."
The investigation comes against the backdrop of the Nuggets playing at home later Thursday to get even in their first-round NBA playoff series against the Lakers, who lead 3-2. Andersen did practice at the morning shootaround before news of the investigation broke.
Authorities say the serving of the warrant on the day of a Nuggets playoff game is simply coincidence.
Andersen, 33, is in his 10th NBA season and seventh with the Nuggets but played sparingly this year. He averaged 5.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in the regular season and hadn't played in the postseason.
Before the game, coach George Karl addressed the media:
"I'm at a stage where I don't know enough information. ? One thing I will say, I trust Chris. In my years with him, he's been fantastic and I think he's really grown as a person. We're going to support him and stand by him."
Asked if Andersen is out for the playoffs, Karl said he didn't know exactly what had been discussed by management.
Karl said he spoke to Andersen for five or 10 minutes after shootaround in the morning.
"He was emotional. I didn't want to spend a lot of time on that. I wanted Masai (Ujiri, executive vice president of basketball operations) and Josh (Kroenke, club president) to take care of that," Karl said.
Karl said it wouldn't be a distraction for the team, then was asked if it were fair to Andersen not to be playing given he hasn't been arrested or charged.
"I think it's difficult for Bird right now not playing and then this, I'm sure it's real difficult for him," Karl said. "Bird, I've said before and I'll say it again, I think he's been dealt a bad hand by me. For a guy that's played great basketball for me and the Nuggets over the years, he's been kind of been phased out because of the youth movement in the middle of the season.
"It's not always fair. I personally think Bird's a very good basketball player. He can play for many NBA teams. He can play for us someday if the situation opens itself up again."
Neighbors who live in Andersen's quiet Lakespur neighborhood told Denver's KUSA-TV he's a nice guy who always takes time out for the kids.
"He's a sweet guy. He kept to himself and he was always stopping off and playing horse, the basketball game, with kids if they were playing outside. Always very nice to our grandson and we had no reason to think negatively of him at all," Vicki MacKinnon, a neighbor, said.
MacKinnon has lived next to Andersen for years. She says she never thought he would have a run-in with law enforcement.
"I was surprised, very surprised. I saw the cop cars here this morning," MacKinnon said.
Nicknamed "Birdman" for his sometimes outrageous hair style, Andersen has been known for helping out children's charities in Denver and New Orleans, where he played with the Hornets from 2004-08.
According to the Nuggets' media guide, he raised money for Mount Saint Vincent, a home for troubled and abused children in the Denver area, and was honored at the home's 2009 Silver Bell Ball.
Sister Amy Willcott, Mount Saint Vincent's executive director, is on vacation in California until Monday. A receptionist who would identify herself only as "Mary" told USA TODAY Sports that in the executive director's absence, Mount Saint Vincent would have no official comment concerning Andersen.
Andersen also is involved with Alliance for Choice in Education, which provides scholarships for low-income families to use in private schools. His middle name is Claus, and he dressed up as Santa to raise money for ACE in 2009, according to his media guide bio.
Jonathan Tee, ACE's chief of operations, issued a statement:
"ACE Scholarships has no comment on the reported investigation. In regard to Mr. Andersen's involvement with ACE Scholarships, he has financially supported our organization in the past, and in 2009 he attended two functions at ACE partner private schools in Denver that were also attended by ACE staff and supervised by school officials."
Andersen also helped with hunger initiatives while with New Orleans.
Contributing: Vicki Michaelis in Denver; Rachel Shuster, Andy Gardiner in McLean, Va.
Source: http://rssfeeds.usatoday.com/~r/UsatodaycomSports-TopStories/~3/lPNasaKXMKo/1
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