Did The Cleveland Cavaliers Just Call Up Larry Sanders?

Is Larry Sanders gearing up for a return to the NBA hardwood with the Cleveland Cavaliers?

Larry Sanders might have gotten the call he’s been waiting for. This tweet, which was posted Friday afternoon, doesn’t tell you much unless you know that Sanders regularly wears goggles for one activity. Basketball. Sanders worked out for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the final week of February and met with head coach Tyronn Lue.

https://twitter.com/l8show_thegoat/status/840249868274741248

Sanders wasn’t signed to a contract after his workout but it’s widely assumed that the reason why had everything to do with the trade, and subsequent waiving, of Andrew Bogut.

Bogut had seemingly on the Cavs’ wishlist nearly all season as he was playing for a Dallas Mavericks squad looking like it was heading nowhere fast after a rash of injuries hit the roster and left the Mavericks season floundering. Once Bogut was bought of his contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, who he was traded to the day of the trade deadline, the Cavs patiently waited for Bogut to clear waivers and to choose which team he wanted to play for.

Unfortunately for Bogut, who Sanders played with in Milwaukee and considers to be one of his early mentors, he suffered a season-ending injury less than a minute into his debut with the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Now, the Cleveland Cavaliers will waive Bogut but they need another rim-protecting center in his place. The Cavs are in the bottom third of league ranks when it comes to blocks per game, defensive rating and opponents points per game. While they’re one of the absolute worst teams at defending the three-point line, a team with Kyrie Irving and Deron Williams as it’s point guards are going to give up a lot of perimeter penetration. At this point, it’s not a matter of expecting the Cavs to try harder on defense. The effort isn’t always there but in general it’s been fine.

The bigger issue is that the Cleveland Cavaliers simply lack a great defender at the point guard position and their best matchup for opposing point guards, DeAndre Liggins is often sitting at the end of the bench in favor of players without his length, grit or defensive capabilities in general. With him on the bench, opposing point guards get into the teeth of the defense consistently and make plays for himself or others.

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When Thompson is there anchoring the defense, he’s a difference-maker. Opponents shoot 50.8 percent from six feet and in when he’s on the court, 10.1 percent less than their season average. When he’s on the court, opponents have an offensive rating of 108.5 compares to an offensive rating of 112.4 when he’s off the floor.

However, the problem is what happens when Thompson is on the bench. Tyronn Lue inserts Channing Frye at center to bring big men out the paint and rightly so. Nonetheless, a player who could stretch the floor a little and protect the rim would be ideal. However, contrary to popular belief, shooting isn’t the only way a center can stretch the floor.

Centers who are elite offensive rebounders and who have superior athleticism often camp out by the baseline area to get a running start on putback dunks and lobs. In Miami, Chris “Birdman” Andersen had what became known as the “Bird Box”. The “Bird Box” was the baseline area where Birdman awaited his signal to take flight. That signal?

Simply put the ball in the air around the rim for him to go get it. At one point in the Miami Heat’s postseason run in 2013, Andersen used the “Bird Box” to convert 85.4 percent of his field goals in the playoffs. That number “dropped down” to 80.4 percent by the end of the playoffs.

Sanders has the perfect combination of length and athleticism to provide similar results. Andersen averaged 1.6 offensive rebounds per game that season (playoffs only). Sanders averages 2.0 rebounds per game for his career.

Guy like that are ones opposing centers have to put a body on, regardless of their jump shooting ability.

With LeBron James and Kyrie Irving coming at opposing offenses, and fast, Sanders will be in prime position for a drop-off pass, lob or a putback attempts if the opposing center opts to leave him and try to alter James or Irving’s shot.

It may not seem as great an option as the center having to decide between defending the rim or leaving open a stretch-five but if Frye is off from three-point range or the opposing team is consistently quick enough on rotations to get to Frye, the tradeoff from threes to lobs and putbacks becomes less lopsided.

Now that we’ve established that Sanders can have a place in the rotation even if Frye continues to play center (and especially as Frye continues to play at the four instead of Kevin Love, as the latter recovers from surgery), it’s time to focus on Sanders’ abilities on defense.

Sanders, who averages 1.8 blocks per game for his career, is masterful at understanding angles and uses the rule of verticality to his fullest advantage. He may remind some Cavs fans of Timofey Mozgov in that sense while being more mobile and explosive than “Mozzy”. His wingpsan is exceptional and it allows from Sanders to have an incredible lengthy radius that he can impact with his defensive presence.

As mentioned previously, Sanders is a mobile and lengthy center whose physical traits make him an attractive rim-protector in terms of playing straight-up in the post or providing helpside defense. However, Sanders’ physical profile is tailor-made for the perimeter-oriented offenses of today’s NBA. He’ll be able to cover guards in space effectively and, after forcing a pass or an errant shot, still be able to get back and protect the rim or clean the glass.

It remains to see if Sanders will sign with the Cleveland Cavaliers, as there hasn’t been any official word yet. However, all the signs point to Sanders joining the Cavs on their quest to repeat as NBA champions.

What do you make of Larry Sanders’ tweet? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.