Is There Room For Larry Sanders?

Should the Boston Celtics pursue big man Larry Sanders?

It wasn’t too long ago that Larry Sanders was considered one of the premier shot blockers in the NBA. In 2012-13, Sanders ranked second in the NBA in blocks per game, averaging 2.83. During his five seasons with the Milwaukee Bucks, Sanders never averaged lower than 2.4 blocks per 36 minutes, and was rewarded with a big $44 million contract extension.

Sanders had a couple of drug violations during his time with the Bucks, but there was no denying his talent and potential. He took up basketball later in his life, therefore he was still rapidly growing as a player, even after five years in the league.

He was one of the most athletic centers in the game and he had a good chance of becoming the best rim protector in the NBA one day. Then he walked away from basketball in the middle of his fifth season.

In an interview with Alex Kennedy earlier this year, Sanders admitted that he missed basketball and would consider a return now that he’s in a better state of mind. He also told Kennedy that he didn’t care about the money. Sanders was more concerned about not forgetting who he was as a person.

Despite that being the first time Sanders came out and said he would like to return to the NBA, he was always a candidate whenever a team was in need of a center or rim protection. A Larry Sanders return has seemed more likely over the past couple of days, though, after he posted two Twitter polls asking, “Which team do you believe will utilize my skills the best?”

The first poll had the Warriors, Cavs, Knicks and Celtics – who led with 38 percent of the votes. In the second poll, it had the Bucks, Lakers, Mavs and Heat – the Bucks led with 31 percent of the votes.

https://twitter.com/LarrySanders/status/757624289562533889

Obviously rim protection is still a need for the Celtics, and with Sanders potential interest in an NBA return, rumors have started swirling about Sanders joining the Celtics.

Al Horford brings some rim protection, however he’s never been considered an elite rim protector like Sanders was. He set a career-high of 1.7 blocks per 36 minutes last season, although that is diminutive in comparison to Sanders numbers. Brining in an elite shot blocker would definitely push the Boston Celtics closer to the Cleveland Cavaliers, but it might not be a realistic option for the Celtics.

After bringing back Tyler Zeller, and with newly drafted Ben Bentil waiting in the shadows, the Celtics don’t have a lot of wiggle room when it comes to their roster. They will already need to make a tough decision by cutting a couple of young players, and adding Sanders to the roster would round out their 15-man roster, leaving a lot of recent draft picks off the roster.

Without Zeller, Sanders could have been a real option. Although, at the same time, Sanders comes with extreme risk.

He didn’t play last season, and the year before he only played in 27 games before taking a personal leave. In 2013-14 Sanders only appeared in 23 games, therefore, he has only played in 50 games over the past three seasons. It will take time for him to get caught up to the NBA speed and get back into shape, and with the Celtics crowded roster, it would be better to give those minutes to a young shot blocker in Jordan Mickey.

Besides, it’s no guarantee that Sanders will get back to the level he played at in 2012-13. In fact, after his career year when he blocked 2.8 shots per game, Sanders numbers decreased over the next two seasons. He blocked just 1.7 shots per game the next year and 1.4 shots per game the following season.

While the Celtics would love to add 1.4 blocks per game to their roster, that’s a big dip in just two seasons. Not to mention that Sanders’ only real impact on the game is on defense.

During his five-year career, he only averaged 6.5 points and 5.8 rebounds per game in 19.8 minutes. He didn’t have a great motor and greatly under-achieved on the glass considering he’s 6’11”. Also, he averaged at least four fouls per 36 minutes in each season and in 2011-12 averaged 7.4 per 36 minutes. While he was one of the best shot blockers in the NBA, contesting without fouling was always a problem.

Offensively, Sanders shot 48.2 percent from the field and was ineffective from outside the paint. 58.2 percent of his career shot attempts came in the paint, and he shot under 35 percent from outside of three feet. Therefore, while the Celtics wouldn’t have to wait for his shot to get back into form, he’ll be a non-factor on offense for a team who struggles to score at times.

When it comes down to it, adding the Larry Sanders that we knew would instantly make the Celtics better, but there’s no guarantee that Boston will get that Larry Sanders. There is also no guarantee that Sanders won’t want to quit midway through the season, again.

Also, it’s unknown if he’s still using drugs, and the NBA will be well aware about the couple of times he got caught. Getting suspended would significantly hurt any chances of a comeback as he’d be suspended for a significant portion of the season.

Boston would likely only give him a one-year deal with a possible team option in year two, but there doesn’t seem to be many positives involved in signing Sanders this offseason. Like previously mentioned, the Celtics brought back three front court members this summer, and have Jordan Mickey and Ben Bentil waiting for their opportunity.

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With a much more promising offensive game, Mickey seems to be the better option between Sanders and him. Mickey was a dominating rim protector in the D-League last season – averaged 4.4 blocks per game – and is more athletic than Sanders, although Sanders has three inches on him. Still, seeing what they have in their former second round pick this season could better prepare them for the upcoming offseasons as the Celtics will be searching for the last couple of missing pieces to complete their championship run.

If the Celtics did sign Sanders, it would make the Tyler Zeller signing even more confusing and likely push Mickey and Jonas Jerebko or Tyler Zeller to the D-League in order to give Sanders a chance.

I hope Sanders has found peace in his life and gets another shot in the NBA, but Boston doesn’t need to wait half a season to see if Sanders can play like he did before he walked away from the game.

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If there was a way to add the 2012-13 Larry Sanders to this Celtics roster, then I’d jump on that opportunity right away, but, sadly, that’s not possible. He could be a mere shell of what he was, and that would do more damage than anything for the Celtics.

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