Don’t count on Larry Sanders ever again putting on a Milwaukee Bucks uniform. The 26 year-old Horace Grant goggle aficionado was suspended 12 games last month for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, and that suspension was lifted last week after Sanders received treatment.
Technically, the suspension lasted 12 games, but he was listed as out for “personal reasons” in Wednesday’s 111-103 win over the Kings before the All-Star break.
League sources tell Marc Stein of ESPN Milwaukee has begun discussions with Sanders to buy out the four-year, $44 million extension he signed in the summer of 2013. That four-year deal only started this season, and a lot’s happened since he signed. At the time, the contract was lauded by some and met with skepticism by others since it’s more difficult to quantify Sanders’ value as a rim-protecting specialist.
Sanders’ 2013-14 season didn’t go well. He was involved in a fight at a Milwaukee nightclub and missed significant time after injuring his thumb in the scuffle. He fractured his orbital bone (hence the goggles) and missed even more time to end the season. Later he was suspended for the first time after testing positive for cannabis (they don’t suspend you in the NBA until you’ve tested positive three times). He made more headlines after that suspension by saying, “I believe in marijuana and the medical side of it.”
Earlier this year, a report by Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times said Sanders had lost interest in basketball and didn’t want to play anymore. Sanders refuted the report less than 24 hours before it was public.
Even while healthy, Larry was listed as inactive for “personal reasons,” before testing positive for cannabis again and getting the longer 10-game suspension starting last month.
Recently, Sanders posted some murky messages on Twitter…
Soon you all will know the truth.
— Dr. Larry Sanders II (@l8show_thegoat) February 10, 2015
And we couldn’t help but think of his recent suspension, which cost him over $1 million of his $11 million salary, when he posted this pic to Twitter:
No one thing in life will ever define me nor will I surrender my mind to fleeting materials. #truevalue #purpose pic.twitter.com/tJNTbjI5dT
— Dr. Larry Sanders II (@l8show_thegoat) January 23, 2015
We wrote extensively about the NBA’s cannabis policy — and updated that information with Larry’s latest suspension — despite shifting laws and national attitudes about the plant across the United States. Even from that vantage point, Sanders has to abide by his employer’s rules and regulations if he’s going to play in the Association. We hope he’s completed the league-mandated marijuana treatment and is picked up by another team whenever he reaches a consensus on a buyout with Milwaukee.
A lot of team’s could use his interior presence, but the off-the-court stories issues could scare a lot of them away, even if his defense aligns with their needs.
