Larry Sanders agrees to deal with the Cavaliers
Free agent big man Larry Sanders has agreed to a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers pending a physical exam that will take place sometime today:
Larry Sanders has agreed on a deal to make NBA return with the Cavaliers, w/ likely 2017-18 option date, league sources tell @TheVertical.— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 13, 2017
With Andrew Bogut breaking his ankle just seconds into his 1st action in Cleveland the Cavaliers have decided to use the open spot on their roster to add the former Bucks forward/center to the end of their bench. The plan is for Sanders to play with the Cavs D-league affiliate to finish out the season and then decide whether he can make an impact this season with the big club:
The plan for @l8show_thegoat in Cleveland is to practice w/Cavs & play for Canton D-League team for most of the rest of the regular season.— David Aldridge (@daldridgetnt) March 13, 2017
It's also being reported that the Cavaliers have signed Sanders with a 2017-18 option tied to the deal. The Celtics were reported to have some interest in Sanders but weren't interested in tying up any future money to going into the offseason and that may have been the breaking point in any negotiations:
Larry Sanders & BOS had talked about him signing in BOS, but Celtics did not want to commit money in 2017-18 to conserve cap flexibility.— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) March 13, 2017
We talked yesterday on the CelticsLife podcast about the potential of Sanders joining the Celtics or any other playoff contender. Coming off two years out of the league it seems unlikely that Sanders will be particularly effective going into the playoffs this year, but it's certainly not impossible that he could be a factor. The Cavs might be looking at this more as a move for next season though with a potential option in the mix.
Photo Credit - SLAM Online
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