Rumors: Larry Sanders Sets the Record Straight

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Sanders confirmed what Basketball Insiders Steve Kyler reported shortly after rumor broke that he told the Bucks he didn’t have interest in playing anymore. The nature of his issues are still unknown, and are rightfully being kept private, but his comments do help alleviate concerns about his desire to play basketball. Sanders doesn’t want to quit, he just wants to play in the right mind state with all of his health issues resolved.

Nonetheless, an in-season absence like this is always going to raise some eyebrows. However, to Sanders’ credit, this isn’t like when Ron Artest wanted time to promote his album in season or anything off the wall like that. He’s been dedicated to making the most of this season dating back to the summer when he spent time with the team at the Las Vegas Summer League to support the important young players that were on the team and to start the relationship building process with his new head coach. He bought the team and coaching staff dinner during the event and was clearly all-in with the Bucks. His commitment shouldn’t be questioned, he’s simply making his mental health paramount, which it should be.

The Bucks are clearly not getting what they paid for in Sanders, who is making $11 million this year and is owed that annually over the next three seasons as well. They’re pretty limited in what they can do outside of supporting Sanders and helping him get through this tough time, though. If they truly feel he is not going to be capable of helping them over the duration of his contract, they could always use the stretch provision in the same fashion the Detroit Pistons did with Josh Smith. That would spread Sanders’ salary out over the next several years. Given their position with the salary cap, though, and the difficulty they would have in luring any top-tier free agents to Milwaukee, it’s just an unnecessary hit to take unless they truly feel like they would be better with him gone – as the Pistons have been without Smith.

New York Knicks fans were absolutely heartbroken after word broke that Jackson was indeed not included in the three-team trade and that they were only receiving players who would likely be waived instead of a potential long-term solution for their starting point guard woes.

The Thunder are in an interesting predicament with Jackson, who they were unable to agree to a long-term contract extension with prior to the October 31. They’re dead set on staying below the luxury tax threshold and have an All-Star at his position already in Russell Westbrook. Given how Jackson has excelled as a starter, he’s very likely to garner a max offer sheet this summer – perhaps from the Knicks. The Thunder are going to be hard pressed to justify matching it, but at the same time cannot afford to let go of another elite talent the offseason before Kevin Durant hits unrestricted free agency.

In the best-case scenario, the Thunder can flip Jackson for a piece of major significance – like a true center who can score with his back to the basket, something they’ve lacked since their rise to prominence. They don’t have a ton of leverage to negotiate with, though, as teams know that they’re very likely to lose him this offseason and may not be willing to give up a quality asset when they can just sign him away this offseason.

The other major positive, along with getting a nice prospect like Dion Waiters on the cheap, is that they got him over a month before the trade deadline. If Waiters thrives and proves that he can handle the basketball when needed in spot backup point guard duty, then the Thunder may feel comfortable enough to put Jackson on the block and ship him somewhere he can have the starting role that he covets.

This is really the smartest path for the Knicks, as the top guys on the market – LaMarcus Aldridge, Rajon Rondo and Marc Gasol – are going to be virtually unobtainable barring some type of woeful close to the season. Fortunately for them, they already have a top-level star in Carmelo Anthony, so the addition of a couple of second/third tier stars will make a big difference for them in the immediate future.

Knicks fans may be wanting to hit a grand slam this summer and walk away with two true max level free agents, but that’s just not feasible for them. The route to building a championship contender sometimes takes longer than most would like, especially for a franchise that’s as far removed from their contending days as the Knicks, but Jackson is patient and has been given the green light to do as he sees fit.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the Knicks have their own draft pick this year and the recent trade of Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith increases the likelihood that it’s going to be a top five selection. So, not only could they have a couple of really solid free agents, but they will very likely have a premiere rookie as well. So, while they may not be championship contenders next season, this route does make them attractive for a guy like Durant in 2016, and also makes them potentially significantly better next season.