Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders has had nothing short of a nightmare season so far. He’s been suspended for a minimum of ten games after violating terms of the NBA’s anti-drug program, and there were rumors that he was ready to just quit basketball forever.
Now, though, according to a Yahoo! Sports report from Adrian Wojnarowski, Sanders is ready to clean up his act and get his NBA career back on track. Sanders, at one point last season, said, “I believe in marijuana and the medical side of it.”
Details on Sanders’ reportedly new attitude, from Yahoo:
Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders plans to use his 10-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program to deal with his core personal issues and learn to live without marijuana use, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Sanders wants to continue his basketball career and has been coming to the realization league rules won’t permit that unless he stops testing positive as part of the league’s drug program, sources said.
Whether Sanders will play again in Milwaukee remains unclear. A new ownership group and new coach have found a measure of success without needing to depend on Sanders. The revitalized Bucks could seek to pursue a contract buyout with Sanders, but that’s a discussion that’s yet to take place with Sanders’ representatives.
At his best, Sanders has proven to be a dominant defensive player and an emerging offensive threat. Sanders has been marginally productive since signing a four-year, $44 million contract extension in 2013. Nevertheless, suspensions and injuries have derailed his career over the past two seasons with the Bucks.
Sanders had been suspended for the final five games of the 2013-14 season for a positive marijuana test. Under league rules, his next positive test and suspension called for the 10-game suspension without pay.
