With Andrew Bogut’s tenure with the Cavaliers quickly coming to an end after he fractured his tibia in the less than a minute in his first game with the team, the Cavs decided to fill that void by signing Larry Sanders to a short-term deal. Cleveland has been relying too heavily on Tristan Thompson all season and needed to add another center to their roster that can give the Cavs iron man relief while also providing rebounding and rim protection. Sanders should fit this role perfectly since those are his areas of expertise.
But Sanders hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2014-2015 season as he left the Milwaukee Bucks midway the first year of a four-year, $44 million contract to deal with depression and anxiety. He will reportedly spend time with the Canton Charge in the D-League to get back into playing shape so he contributes to the Cavs in the playoffs. Sanders has also been working out and getting in shape since basically last summer but that is not the same as game experience, so that’s why his time in the D-League is necessary. Yet perhaps one of the biggest questions facing Sanders relates to his mental state, which caused him to previously quit basketball.
In a video via Uninterrupted, Sanders relays that he is in the right mindset to make an NBA return.
“Excited to get back to the game,” Sanders said. “Such an amazing team. I’m grateful to this organization for giving me a second chance and investing in me. I plan on doing the same. I spent some time away from basketball, getting myself together. I started my company out in L.A., developing myself as a man and it’s been a great journey.
“I’ve been personally working on my mind and my spirits so now I feel like I can bring myself back to you all, put myself back out there again, be on the court, affect the game and hopefully help the team win a championship.
“I stepped away from the game for a little bit, I know everyone thought it was for marijuana, but I had to develop some things on the personal side. I had things I had to handle and as a man, as a father, as a husband. Now that I’ve developed certain things and have grown I feel confident and I feel I can simultaneously handle basketball and my personal life.”