If Larry Sanders is committed to resuming his NBA career and General Manager David Griffin decides he's the rim protector the Cavaliers need, LeBron James is on board.
Reports surfaced Friday night from Shams Charania of The Vertical and Brian Windhorst of ESPN that the Cavs' search for a big man to replace Andrew Bogut includes talks with Sanders, who has been out of the league for the past two seasons.
"I know Griff’s been talking with him and his agent, not sure how serious they are, but I know we liked him with our workout," Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said before Saturday's shootaround at Freedom High School in Orlando. "Or Griff liked him, so not sure where they’re at with the talks. Griff will be in tonight, so we’ll see what happens."
Bogut broke his left tibia 58 seconds into his Cavs' debut Monday.
The Cavs don't plan to fill Bogut's spot until after their three-game road trip, which ends Sunday night in Houston.
The 15th overall pick of the Milwaukee Bucks in 2010, Sanders battled anxiety and depression after he was released by the Bucks on Feb. 21, 2015.
James didn't want to discuss Sanders' off-the-court issues, but is ready to welcome him if that's the option the Cavs' choose.
"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. "With his hiatus, I don’t know what he was going through so I can’t comment about somebody’s personal life because I wasn’t a part of it.
"But 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 look like he wants to get back to playing the game he loves and hopefully this is his destination. You don’t know how much you can get out of a guy that’s been out so long, but I’d love to see it. Why not?"
Sanders, 6-foot-11 and 28 years old, talked to the Cavs before the February trade deadline, but the Cavs landed Bogut instead.
In his career, Sanders has averaged 6.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots in 113 games. His best season came with the Bucks in 2012-13, when he averaged 9.8 points and 9.5 rebounds in 71 games. Sanders was twice suspended for marijuana use in 2013-14.