Per Marc Stein: Bucks plan to buyout Larry Sanders

[D.o.s.]

Didn't this kid get suspended for smoking marijuana?

If so I have no problem with him at all.  Sign him.  How can the NBA or any other league justify a suspension for a product that is legal in two of the states you have franchises.

Weed will be legal at the Federal level within 10 years, Colorado is a tremendous success, corporations are looking into selling weed, and nobody will ever care about it again or Sanders suspension for it.

I say sign him, Bucks loss is our gain.  These stories are so BS with the NBA making millions advertising beer and hard liquor on every telecast.

smoking marijuana? a bum, just like this guy.

http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-12/sports/sp-1478_1_robert-parish

Smoking weed's not a problem, as you say plenty of better players than Sanders have done it.

Smoking weed in a way that interferes with your ability to do your job is very much a problem when discussing "hiring" a guy.  And I don't just mean getting suspended for failed drug tests, though that matters too; the weed seems to be intertwined with some deeper emotional/behavioral/motivational problems he has. 

That said it'd be wonderful to roll the dice on Sanders on a cheap deal, but I can't completely handwave the weed away just because I think the rules against it are stupid too.

This is a good post.

[pearljammer10]

No thx. Nobody is going to pick him up.

... there was league-wide interest in Josh Smith.  Someone will take a flyer on Sanders if they get to pick him up for cheap.

Josh smith was not kicked off the team for taking an illegal substance per nba standards.

Sanders is also against this standard/policy.

When was the last time you seen danny bring in problem players into the roster?

Depending on how you define it:
Marbury
Nate Robinson
Jordan Crawford

Rasheed Wallace?

Delonte West round 2.  Von Wafer.  Orien Greene.

Terrence Williams.

[PickNRoll]

No thx. Nobody is going to pick him up.

... there was league-wide interest in Josh Smith.  Someone will take a flyer on Sanders if they get to pick him up for cheap.

Josh smith was not kicked off the team for taking an illegal substance per nba standards.

Sanders is also against this standard/policy.

When was the last time you seen danny bring in problem players into the roster?

Depending on how you define it:
Marbury
Nate Robinson
Jordan Crawford

Rasheed Wallace?

Delonte West round 2.  Von Wafer.  Orien Greene.

Rasheed Wallace is a stoner.  Jordan Crawford doesn't "play the right way". Delonte West has bipolar disorder.  Oriene Greene doesn't have NBA caliber talent.  Von Wafer has anger management issues. etc. etc.  I don't lump "problem guys" together.  It's more complicated.

Sanders is a simple case.  He doesn't like basketball.  End of story.  I don't want him.

[saltlover]

No thx. Nobody is going to pick him up.

... there was league-wide interest in Josh Smith.  Someone will take a flyer on Sanders if they get to pick him up for cheap.

Josh smith was not kicked off the team for taking an illegal substance per nba standards.

Sanders is also against this standard/policy.

When was the last time you seen danny bring in problem players into the roster?

Depending on how you define it:
Marbury
Nate Robinson
Jordan Crawford

Rasheed Wallace?

Delonte West round 2.  Von Wafer.  Orien Greene.

Terrence Williams.

Forgot about T-Will.  It's pretty safe to say that Ainge is willing to take on reclamation projects if it makes sense.  Generally they are on low-risk deals (which is logical), so while I don't think Ainge would or should absorb Sanders' entire contract through waivers, it wouldn't surprise me if he checked in.  It also wouldn't surprise me if he passed.

[saltlover]

No thx. Nobody is going to pick him up.

... there was league-wide interest in Josh Smith.  Someone will take a flyer on Sanders if they get to pick him up for cheap.

Josh smith was not kicked off the team for taking an illegal substance per nba standards.

Sanders is also against this standard/policy.

When was the last time you seen danny bring in problem players into the roster?

Depending on how you define it:
Marbury
Nate Robinson
Jordan Crawford

Rasheed Wallace?

Delonte West round 2.  Von Wafer.  Orien Greene.

Rasheed Wallace is a stoner.  Jordan Crawford doesn't "play the right way". Delonte West has bipolar disorder.  Oriene Greene doesn't have NBA caliber talent.  Von Wafer has anger management issues. etc. etc.  I don't lump "problem guys" together.  It's more complicated.

Sanders is a simple case.  He doesn't like basketball.  End of story.  I don't want him.

Oriene Greene had some alcohol and academic issues.  That's why he was included.

Also, please cite a specific instance of Sanders being quoted as saying he doesn't like basketball.  Unnamed team sources don't count.

All we know is that Sanders likes pot.  He may like it as a treatment for controlling some other undiagnosed issues, or he may just like it.  That's about all that's publicly known about Sanders' likes and dislikes.  Everything else is somewhere between hearsay, speculation, and slander.

[Endless Paradise]

No thx. Nobody is going to pick him up.

... there was league-wide interest in Josh Smith.  Someone will take a flyer on Sanders if they get to pick him up for cheap.

Josh smith was not kicked off the team for taking an illegal substance per nba standards.

Sanders is also against this standard/policy.

When was the last time you seen danny bring in problem players into the roster?

Depending on how you define it:
Marbury
Nate Robinson
Jordan Crawford

Rasheed Wallace?

I feel like Sheed had more or less redeemed himself by the time he landed in Boston (Bill Simmons and Jail Blazers haters excepted), but sure, he fits. Jermaine O'Neal was involved in the Malice at the Palace, too. Keyon and Ray-Ray got into a fistfight way back when. So did Doc Rivers, actually.

In short, Ainge has no reservation about signing/hiring "problem players."

Not to mention that he currently employs Marcus Smart, Jared Sullinger, and Evan Turner, all of whom have been likened as "undesirables" at some point in time.

[jambr380]

I must be missing something - isn't this the ideal situation for Sanders? He wanted to quit basketball so he could do more rewarding things with his life. Even though he had $33M left on his contract, he still seemed perfectly willing to give that all up. If he can somehow still get the majority of that money, why would he dedicate the next 3+ years to playing basketball for marginal money?

[saltlover]

I must be missing something - isn't this the ideal situation for Sanders? He wanted to quit basketball so he could do more rewarding things with his life. Even though he had $33M left on his contract, he still seemed perfectly willing to give that all up. If he can somehow still get the majority of that money, why would he dedicate the next 3+ years to playing basketball for marginal money?

Because maybe he actually does like basketball?  Just a thought.

[Tr1boy]

I must be missing something - isn't this the ideal situation for Sanders? He wanted to quit basketball so he could do more rewarding things with his life. Even though he had $33M left on his contract, he still seemed perfectly willing to give that all up. If he can somehow still get the majority of that money, why would he dedicate the next 3+ years to playing basketball for marginal money?

Exactly. Bucks gave him lots of chances already

[Celtics4ever]

For some people weed will sap their motivation, trouble is with any drugs people always think they can handle it better than they actually can.

[jonaslopes]

Sanders is a simple case.  He doesn't like basketball.  End of story.  I don't want him.

TP!

[Kuberski33]

Didn't this kid get suspended for smoking marijuana?

If so I have no problem with him at all.  Sign him.  How can the NBA or any other league justify a suspension for a product that is legal in two of the states you have franchises.

Weed will be legal at the Federal level within 10 years, Colorado is a tremendous success, corporations are looking into selling weed, and nobody will ever care about it again or Sanders suspension for it.

I say sign him, Bucks loss is our gain.  These stories are so BS with the NBA making millions advertising beer and hard liquor on every telecast.

smoking marijuana? a bum, just like this guy.

http://articles.latimes.com/1993-02-12/sports/sp-1478_1_robert-parish

Smoking weed's not a problem, as you say plenty of better players than Sanders have done it.

Smoking weed in a way that interferes with your ability to do your job is very much a problem when discussing "hiring" a guy.  And I don't just mean getting suspended for failed drug tests, though that matters too; the weed seems to be intertwined with some deeper emotional/behavioral/motivational problems he has. 

That said it'd be wonderful to roll the dice on Sanders on a cheap deal, but I can't completely handwave the weed away just because I think the rules against it are stupid too.

Is it just weed?  The guy started a brawl in a club right?  Guessing there's more going on than just his smoking habits.

[PickNRoll]

No thx. Nobody is going to pick him up.

... there was league-wide interest in Josh Smith.  Someone will take a flyer on Sanders if they get to pick him up for cheap.

Josh smith was not kicked off the team for taking an illegal substance per nba standards.

Sanders is also against this standard/policy.

When was the last time you seen danny bring in problem players into the roster?

Depending on how you define it:
Marbury
Nate Robinson
Jordan Crawford

Rasheed Wallace?

Delonte West round 2.  Von Wafer.  Orien Greene.

Rasheed Wallace is a stoner.  Jordan Crawford doesn't "play the right way". Delonte West has bipolar disorder.  Oriene Greene doesn't have NBA caliber talent.  Von Wafer has anger management issues. etc. etc.  I don't lump "problem guys" together.  It's more complicated.

Sanders is a simple case.  He doesn't like basketball.  End of story.  I don't want him.

Oriene Greene had some alcohol and academic issues.  That's why he was included.

Also, please cite a specific instance of Sanders being quoted as saying he doesn't like basketball.  Unnamed team sources don't count.

All we know is that Sanders likes pot.  He may like it as a treatment for controlling some other undiagnosed issues, or he may just like it.  That's about all that's publicly known about Sanders' likes and dislikes.  Everything else is somewhere between hearsay, speculation, and slander.

I was referring to this and all the related speculation and hearsay:

http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2015/1/5/7495973/larry-sanders-bucks-absence-basketball

Most importantly, the fact that the team suspended him (AGAIN) for this matter in spite of the fact that he's an ideal basketball fit for the defense-first Bucks.  The Bucks outcome says it all.  Would J. Kidd dump him if he were invested and well?  No chance.  There was a related quote where Sanders said (to paraphrase), "I like basketball, but I don't take it as seriously as some people".

[Lucky17]

Happy Walters, the agent for Sanders, denied the report, telling HoopsHype that it's "unsubstantiated." Basketball Insiders' Steve Kyler reported that Woelfel's reports was "news to Larry."

Bucks fans have commented on Woelfel's reports as being motivated by some axe to grind against Sanders.

[PickNRoll]

I must be missing something - isn't this the ideal situation for Sanders? He wanted to quit basketball so he could do more rewarding things with his life. Even though he had $33M left on his contract, he still seemed perfectly willing to give that all up. If he can somehow still get the majority of that money, why would he dedicate the next 3+ years to playing basketball for marginal money?

Exactly.  He's the poster child for the downside of guaranteed contracts.