Larry Sanders doesn’t want to work anymore, which is a feeling we all can probably sympathize with.
The difference, of course, is that most of us schlubs spend eight hours a day at a desk, on a manufacturing floor or driving around to appointments, whereas Sanders is the starting center for the Milwaukee Bucks. Most of us would kill for Sanders’ job.
Most of us aren’t Sanders.
Sanders has always been a bit of a different cat. He broke out as a springy 24-year-old in the 2012-13 season and was on many preseason watch lists — including mine — for the 2013-14 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. Yet he has been beset by injuries and various distractions, including an injured thumb he reportedly suffered in a bar fight and a five-game suspension for testing positive for marijuana. The four-year, $44 million contract extension he signed in 2013 kicked in this season.
Now, Sanders appears to have lost his passion for the game. Sources told Racine Journal Times columnist Gery Woelfel that Sanders “doesn’t want to play basketball anymore.” He’s missed the Bucks’ last six games, with the reason evolving from the “flu” to “personal reasons.” Milwaukee, which ranks second in turnovers forced and eighth in defensive efficiency, won four of those six games.
Sanders is either a deep thinker or pretends to be a deep thinker — it’s hard to say which without getting into his head — perhaps most notably responding to his drug suspension by opining on how, one day, marijuana use will lose its “stigma” and be as socially acceptable as drinking alcohol or smoking cigarettes. Until Sanders talks, no one can know the actual reasons he has lost his desire to pursue his livelihood.
Whatever the reason, if playing a sport for a living isn’t Sanders’ cup of tea, that’s his right. But surely a few fans will have their own thoughts on Sanders’ decision. That’s their right, too.
Other loose balls from around the NBA:
— J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert are flawed players who could fit in nicely on a likewise flawed Cleveland Cavaliers roster. The Cavs acquired both guards from the New York Knicks in Monday’s trade that also sent Dion Waiters to the Oklahoma City Thunder. With controversy bubbling around LeBron James’ new/old team, the move was another sign things are getting tenuous in Cleveland.
Waiters bristled at James’ taking command on the court and didn’t seem to fully embrace a sixth-man role he should have been perfect for. Smith, a former Sixth Man of the Year, has thrived in just that role in the past. Shumpert, meanwhile, is a tenacious on-ball defender who the Cavs hope is the perimeter stopper they have lacked.
Like the Knicks as a whole, Smith and Shumpert, who is currently hurt, have underachieved this season. Sometimes a change of scenery works out for both players and teams, though, and that is certainly what Cavs general manager David Griffin has to be hoping happens with this deal.
— The early list of Most Valuable Player candidates is as bizarre as the season itself.
James, a four-time MVP award winner, is battling injuries, chemistry issues and oversized expectations in Cleveland. Reigning MVP Kevin Durant has missed 23 of OKC’s 35 games. Carmelo Anthony could soon be shut down for the season. Chris Paul and the Los Angeles Clippers seem to be treading water in sixth place in the Western Conference.
Among the early favorites are Thunder guard Russell Westbrook and New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, but neither is a runaway. Westbrook has had a few lapses that will hurt him with old-school, do-the-right-thing voters who find his fieriness destructive. If the Pelicans stay in the No. 9 spot, Davis could rekindle the time-worn debate over whether the “most valuable” player can come from a team that misses the playoffs.
There’s a lot of season left, but the final MVP ballot could be filled with non-household names. Paul Millsap, a one-time All-Star and former second-round pick, is the best player on the surprising Atlanta Hawks, who own the best record in the Eastern Conference. Jimmy Butler, a no-time All-Star who was taken 30th overall in the 2011 draft, is an elite defender and leads the Chicago Bulls in scoring at 21.9 points per game. Kyle Lowry’s Toronto Raptors look like a legitimate NBA Finals threat and boast the league’s most efficient offense.
These guys are dark horses, for sure, especially with Stephen Curry, James Harden and Marc Gasol having tremendous individual seasons for top-tier teams. But the fact that there are some new names in the discussion owes to just how weird a season this is shaping up to be.
Thumbnail photo via Jeff Hanisch/USA TODAY Sports Images
