Larry Sanders continues his way down the long road to an NBA return. The talented big man hasn’t played an NBA minute since he left the Milwaukee Bucks via a contract buyout in 2015. Sanders said he had to leave the NBA to take care of some “personal issues.”
Over the past year or so, we had heard rumblings about Sanders potential return to the hardwood, but those rumors never came to fruition. Now, nearly two years after the start of his hiatus, Sanders finally has some real traction towards being an NBA player once again. Following from RealGM’s Keith Smith:
Source: Larry Sanders worked out with the Celtics recently. No signing imminent. Both sides just checking in to see where things are at.
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) January 27, 2017
Sanders himself later tweeted that he was, in fact, looking forward to hopefully get a shot to jump right back into the NBA:
Officially stepping back into the game,looking for a good fit but it shouldn't be long now,I really missed the game,I think it missed me 2 ?
— Larry Sanders (@l8show_thegoat) January 27, 2017
At 28, Sanders remains young enough to have a valuable impact off a team’s bench, especially a playoff contender. The former VCU standout had an impressive college career and was expected to bring immediate athleticism to the five position for the Milwaukee Bucks. The 6’11” center was also quite the athlete, able to finish over defenders at the rim and stifle opposing bigs. While Sanders failed to live up to his expectations, he was still a player you can rely on for solid rim protection and crashing the glass. In his last full NBA season, Sanders averaged a respectable 7.7 points to go along with 7.2 rebounds per game.
While the Boston Celtics may not be the best fit, the important thing to take out of all this is that it seems Sanders has thankfully fought off his personal demons and is ready to focus on the game again.
