Larry Sanders on the Lakers’ Radar?
By Eric Yee
Yesterday, news broke that former Milwaukee Bucks’ center Larry Sanders was drawing interest from a Western Conference team and could be making a return to the NBA.
You knew this was inevitable: A source tells me a Western Conference team has had internal talks about possibly signing Larry Sanders.
— Gery Woelfel (@GeryWoelfel) October 12, 2015
Further, DYSTNow reported that the mystery team may in fact be the Los Angeles Lakers.
"A league source elaborated on their report saying that the Lakers, who were interested when Sanders announced he was playing in the Drew League, were still interested and were considering offering Sanders a contract.Sanders bonded well with current Laker, Nick Young this off-season as the two were teammates in the Drew League. Sanders called the two, “the swag brothers"
Sanders himself added fuel to the fire, Tweeting out the following three hours after Gery Woelfel’s report.
"Just landed in Texas…"
While the Dallas Mavericks are interested in Sanders, apparently the visit had nothing to do with the team, per Hoopsrumors.
If Sanders is indeed on the Lakers’ radar, would this signing be good for the team?
When locked in, Sanders is an excellent rim protector, averaging nearly 3 blocks at his prime during the 2012-2013 season. Further, his field goal percentage hovered around 50% which would have ranked him in the Top 25 last season.
Currently, the Lakers don’t have a true back up for Roy Hibbert, so Sanders could fill the hole in the second unit perfectly.
Despite his tremendous upside, Sanders has had a horrible off court track record, with drug and various other personal problems, meaning that this gamble could actually do more damage than good.
Sanders last game was in December 2014, and in his past two seasons he’s only played in 50 of 164 possible games.
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Considering the Lakers commitment to rookie Robert Upshaw, this could hinder him in multiple ways.
First, he would get even less playing time than he’s getting already and second, that Sanders could bring with him exactly what Upshaw was trying to get away from.
Currently the Lakers have 19 players on their roster and are expected to begin making cuts as early as their next preseason game against the Sacramento Kings.
Do you think it would be wise for the Lakers to use one of these valuable spots on Sanders?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.