The Cleveland Cavaliers have agreed to a deal with center Larry Sanders, who has been out of the NBA since the 2014-15 season, according to Yahoo! Sports’ Shams Charania.
Cavaliers agree to sign Larry Sanders for the rest of the season
Sanders walked away from the NBA during the 2014-15 season to address his mental health. He will replace Andrew Bogut.
Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images
The signing follows a season-ending leg injury to Andrew Bogut, who the Cavaliers claimed off the buyout market shortly after the trade deadline and released shortly thereafter when he was injured a minute into his first game.
Sanders enjoyed the heights of his short-lived playing career in the 2012-13 season where he averaged 9.8 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game as the team’s rim protector. He sustained a season-ending face injury the next season and walked away from the NBA shortly after, acknowledging an ongoing battle with his mental health, including stress, anxiety, and depression. The NBA conceded it hadn’t handled mental health issues well.
Sanders had previously said that he would only return to the NBA when he felt confident that he could treat his mental health.
“I love basketball, and if I get to a point where I feel I’m capable of playing basketball again, I will,” Sanders said in an essay for The Players Tribune. “I’ve had to make the difficult decision to follow my intuition, and allow myself the space and time to explore my true purpose in life.”
Cleveland plans to have Sanders practice with the team and play with their Canton D-League affiliate for most of the rest of the season, according to NBA.com’s David Aldridge. The team hopes to have him physically ready by the postseason, since Sanders has been away from professional basketball for so long.
The Cavaliers play Tristan Thompson at their center position and did not have a reserve center on the roster prior to signing Sanders.
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