Larry Sanders Will Play With Canton Charge First After A Long, Arduous Road To Cleveland

Larry Sanders, the newest member of the Cleveland Cavaliers, will play for the Canton Charge as he reacclimates himself to the NBA. He went through Hell and back on return path.

Larry Sanders will indeed come to the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, he will play for the Canton Charge for most of the regular season.

The Canton Charge will play their final regular season game on April 1st. That leaves 7 games for Sanders to suit up for the Charge, whose next game is tomorrow at 7:00 PM (EST).

The NBA regular season ends on April 12th. The Cleveland Cavaliers will have 7 games between April 2nd and April 12th. The symmetry in Sanders’ practice time is appealing.

With such a short time left in the season, Sanders only has a short time to get reacclimated to the speed and flow of the game as he readies himself for the Cavs’ postseason run.

Sanders, a 28-year-old center who was one of the elite shot-blockers in the NBA, had a quick rise to stardom despite not playing basketball until he was “15 or 16“. Never failing to average less than a single block per game in any season in his career, Sanders was averaging 2.8 blocks per game in his third NBA season, at 24-years-old.

However, after a fracture to his orbital bone cost Sanders most of the 2013-2014 season and, temporarily, his eyesight, Sanders’ path and persona shifted; he was a volatile player who failed a drug test at the end of the season. He took a personal leave of absence after failing his second drug test.

At the time, Sanders had this to say:

"“Without these things being corrected, I don’t think basketball will be something I can even do,” he said then.“But what is true,” he said, “is that I’m in the process of working things out now to do as best for my psyche and my physical health going forward. There’s a lot of evaluating going on. There’s a lot of inside talk just to put myself in the best place for my health right now.”"

He followed that up with the decision to leave the NBA entirely.

The questions about Sanders’ motivation for leaving the game are due to common misconceptions about how NBA players are expected to deny their own emotions, their very humanity, because they make millions of dollars to play the game of basketball. People might as well ask how Sanders didn’t sell his soul.

Sanders, who is an artist and a family man, said this in an interview with Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders about why he walked away from the NBA:

"“I just felt like I had to put myself in a better position in life, to feel more fulfilled. At the end of the day, I’m left with myself, my loved ones and the life I made. I wanted to be someone who was proud of their story. It was always about staying true to myself. I didn’t want to lose myself and who I was for anything. No amount of money. Nothing.”That time [to work on yourself] isn’t really given to us, but there’s a lot of value in making some time for yourself and I hope other people can find the time to do that too. Some people never do that or can’t do that, and that just saddens me. Stepping out of the NBA schedule and doing that was good for me, I’m very happy now."

Now, Sanders is well-adjusted. Happy. He’s coming back from one of the most important periods of his life and he’s embarking on a new journey. One that may lead him to the NBA Finals and a Finals victory in his first year back.

He does have to make a pit-stop in Canton though. That’s already a long way from where he came from (story by Sports Illustrated’s Lee Jenkins) and about an hour’s drive away from Cleveland.

Must Read: LeBron James And James Harden Battle For MVP

What do you think of Larry Sanders’ return to the NBA? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section or Twitter @KJG_NBA.