Athletic shot-blocking center Larry Sanders is planning to return to the NBA once his "off-court ventures stabilize," Sanders told Yahoo's Shams Charania.
"Once my art, music and passions off the court feel stable, I will look into coming back," Sanders told Charania. "I still love basketball. I want stability around me, and part of my mindset to leave was not to put all my eggs in one basket. I feel highly valuable on any team. There aren't a lot of people who can bring my game to a team. I still play basketball all the time, staying in shape. I will need to make sure the situation is right for me."
Sanders said there isn't a timetable for his return, but the Mavericks have been linked to the center in the past after his time in Milwaukee eventually ended in a buyout. There was even talks before this season about Sanders being in talks with a Western Conference team to revive his career, but league sources told me that the Mavericks were not that team and hadn't spoken with the big man.
There's nothing wrong with pursuing passions outside of basketball, but the way Sanders left Milwaukee is troublesome and if the Mavericks pursued him this offseason, they would have to be sure he was committed to playing. Sanders has been out of basketball for nearly two years now, too, and at 27, there are also questions whether he has retained the talent that made him a rising NBA star briefly for the Bucks. Certainly, there's more to basketball than just being 6'11.
This isn't anything to worry about for this season, but file away this tidbit for this coming offseason. If Sanders does indeed follow through on pursuing a comeback, then he'll at least be on Dallas' radar.