Washington Wizards may be interested in center Larry Sanders
By Ben Palmer
The Washington Wizards may be interested in signing former Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders. Sanders stepped away from the NBA last season for personal reasons but is attempting a comeback.
The Washington Wizards may be interested in signing free agent center Larry Sanders to a deal, assuming that current backup center Ian Mahinmi will be unable to return to the team after his platelet-rich therapy in his knees, per J. Michael of CSNmidatlantic.com.
The Washington Wizards are sitting in a good spot for the playoffs at 28-20, but one of the biggest issues they’ve had all year is a lack of depth. They’ve solved that issue somewhat in the guard position by demoting Marcus Thornton and giving Sheldon McClellan, Tomas Satoransky, and Trey Burke minutes.
Mahinmi was supposed to be the direct backup to Marcin Gortat, but his injury has left him unavailable all year. Sanders has proven himself to be a good center with a lot of potential, and starting off as a backup to Gortat would help give the Wizards good depth, while allowing Sanders to ease himself back into the NBA.
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Sanders announced before the beginning of last season that he was stepping away from the NBA for personal reasons. After his second suspension for marijuana possession, the Milwaukee Bucks announced they would buy out his contract.
After that happened, Sanders announced in a video that he had checked himself into Rogers Memorial Hospital for anxiety, depression, and mood disorders, saying that he would come back to the NBA when he felt he was ready. On January 26th, he announced via Twitter that he was ready to return.
The last time Sanders played in the NBA fully healthy, he showed a lot of promise averaging 9.8 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game, and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 50.6% in the 2012-13 season.
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Sanders is only 28 years old and still has the potential to be a good player in the NBA. If Mahinmi is unable to get healthy, Sanders would be an excellent addition to the Washington Wizards.