LeBron James would endorse the signing of free agent center Larry Sanders to improve the Cavaliers’ bench, writes Marla Ridenour of The Akron Beacon Journal. A story broke Friday that Cleveland was in “serious discussions” with the former Buck, who hasn’t played in the league since the 2014/15 season. The Cavs need a rim protector after losing Andrew Bogut to a broken leg in his first game with the team. Sanders is only 28 and had talks about joining the organization before Bogut became available. “An athletic big guy, incredible shot-blocking skills, anticipation around the rim, can finish around the rim and block shots and being able to guard perimeter guys as well,” James said. “… It looks like he wants another opportunity and hopefully if we’re the team, hopefully we give him an opportunity. Why not? Everyone deserves a second chance and it looks like he wants to get back to playing the game he loves and hopefully this is his destination.”
There’s more this morning out of Cleveland:
- The Cavs chose defense over offense when they decided to keep DeAndre Liggins instead of Jordan McRae, according to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. McRae, a second-year guard, was waived March 1 to create a roster spot for Bogut. Cleveland believes Liggins is more useful because he can match up with Isaiah Thomas, John Wall, Kyle Lowry or Stephen Curry in a playoff series. In addition, Vardon says some people in the organization questioned McRae’s work ethic.
- Kyle Korver will be out of action for about a week with a recurring foot injury, Vardon writes in a separate story. Tests this week showed inflammation of a tendon, which is an injury that has affected Korver before. Coach Tyronn Lue said Korver will be re-evaluated “in a few days.”
- Deron Williams continues to look like he will play a major role in the postseason, relays Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. The backup point guard, who signed with the Cavaliers after agreeing to a buyout with Dallas, posted 10 points and four assists in 25 minutes Saturday in a win over Orlando. “That’s perfect for our team, and he’s able to learn the sets on the fly,” James said. “He’s putting us in position, and every game he’s getting an opportunity to get his legs back up underneath him because he didn’t play much before the All-Star break. And then you have the break, which is another week, and then I think he took like another week after that. So he’s using these games to get back into game mode and game shape, and it’s helping him every time out.”
the best thing the CAVS can do is to leave sanders alone
I don’t know much about Sanders, but why wld u suggest that? I’m a huge Cavs fan, so I’m just curious….thx in advance
1.Because he bailed out on the NBA to smoke weed
2. He hasn’t played a REAL game in like 3 years
You really trust this guy to help you win a championship ?
So people don’t deserve second chances? Sanders was a great defensive big when he played last. I say give him a shot!
I strongly disagree, Sanders would be a valuable player.
If he was a valuable player he wouldn’t still be a free agent.
Because he’s an armchair point guard thinks he knows everything cuz he reads the internet
Good idea to keep liggins he’s actually a better defender than shumpert
Youtube is a great tool