Larry Sanders doesn't want to play basketball anymore

[Kblaze8855]

surely he's not getting paidthe full 44m contract he signed if he decides he wants to stop playing?

Yes. He does. Once its filed with the league he gets it. He could have quit the next morning....its still going to him.

[HurricaneKid]

Gary Woelfel is a joke. There is no source on this. He has come out and said no one told him this but that there have been "whispers". He has put out hit pieces on Sanders on numerous occasions and the folks on the Bucks board are mercilous on his "stories". He is a horrid reporter than doesn't appear to have any sources inside the new Bucks FO and has repeatedly embarrassed himself.

No one knows what is going on with Larry. The team has maintained absolute secrecy whatever is going on. And it does appear to be significant. I am not even saying this report is inaccurate. What I'm saying is that the next time Woeful breaks a story will be the first time he breaks a story.

He has missed the last 6 games. He hasn't played since a 50 minute player's only meeting that appears to have gone awry.

[HurricaneKid]

Yes. He does. Once its filed with the league he gets it. He could have quit the next morning....its still going to him.

If he retires he doesn't get another penny. He isn't retiring. Sooooo...

[Droid101]

That translates to $25mil after taxes and agents etc.

I'd retire instantly if I got 25 million after taxes.

[chips93]

What kind of hippie shit is this? This is the real world, he's being paid 40 million dollars to do a fcking job.

And guess what? His money is guranteeed, he can quit and still get paid. How fair is that..

If the contract wasnt guranteed then fine, leave and go do what you want. But don't take advantage of this luxury called a guranteed contract you're given that most athletes/people will never see.

He can't play out the next few years and retire with his 50 mil at 28? Plenty of time to do what he wants after that. Hopefully the bucks dont have to keep paying him.

what are you talking about?

you dont keep getting paid if you retire

[chocolatethunder]

Yes. He does. Once its filed with the league he gets it. He could have quit the next morning....its still going to him.

Are you sure about that? Because when stories about Nash and Garnett possibly retiring were circulating, I thought that they would each have to forego the final year/years on their respective contracts. I always thought that injury=get paid, if you wanna quit/retire before your contract is up, you're not getting paid. Pretty sure that's how it goes. You can't sign a deal and decide to never play again because you don't like it anymore and still get paid.

[chocolatethunder]

I'd retire instantly if I got 25 million after taxes.

You have to play to get the money. You don't sign a contract and a) get the money up front b) get the money if you quit. Not how it works.

[Velocirap31]

Well, if he decides he's done playing basketball and still wants the money (obviously), then he should just break his leg or something. I'd break my leg right now for 25 million. Hell, both and legs and arms.

[Fudge]

At first blush, It does seem strange given that he's making a very handsome living, doing something the average person can only dream to do. But life is all about doing what makes YOU happy. If being a basketball player has the opposite affect, then he should just take his ball and go.

Larry approves your post.

[Droid101]

You have to play to get the money. You don't sign a contract and a) get the money up front b) get the money if you quit. Not how it works.

Man, I meant in real life where I am not a pro athlete.

In the basketball world, he can take the guaranteed contract and give a half assed effort to get benched, then spend 4 years on the bench collecting money for nothing.

[Rake2204]

I don't understand this. What would be better than being a professional athlete?

Tough to say, but I do think the lifestyle is often glorified a little bit (i.e. play a little ball, make millions and be comfortable). Clearly, to 99.4% of players who make it to the League, the lifestyle is more than fine enough - at least to convince them to hang on as long as possible and rake in the heavy dough.

However, I'd imagine the NBA is very physically demanding hard work, followed by seemingly endless business travel and constant derision while being in the spotlight.

Not to mention, for the larger sized players in particular, it doesn't always blow my mind when it's revealed they're not passionate about playing basketball. When you're one of the biggest humans in the entire world - and you've developed some impressive athleticism - that already puts you on the fast track for a possible professional basketball career. I imagine some have even been backed into it, begrudgingly developing themselves as a ballplayer because they've been told they have a chance.

Still, again, for the vast majority - even the non-passionate - the perks of NBA life have eclipsed the downfalls. But that doesn't mean it's an open and shut case for everyone.

[chocolatethunder]

Man, I meant in real life where I am not a pro athlete.

In the basketball world, he can take the guaranteed contract and give a half assed effort to get benched, then spend 4 years on the bench collecting money for nothing.

Can't argue with that

[Milbuck]

This makes no sense to me. I know he's been a complete retard in the past but nothing so far this year suggested this would happen. Dude was buying the team expensive gifts, taking the young players and rooks out to dinner, taking on an individual mentorship role with Giannis...went to the Summer League games to work out with and support the players who wouldn't even crack the roster and gave them advice, sticks up for all our guys when he's on court like a big brother...just makes no sense to me. And the worst part is we don't even suck, we finally have something promising going on..quality young coach who is making serious progress in changing the culture around the team, smart new owners, great young talent, and a roster full of guys who seem to genuinely like each other and want to work hard..just...what the ****?

Gary Woelfel is a joke. There is no source on this. He has come out and said no one told him this but that there have been "whispers". He has put out hit pieces on Sanders on numerous occasions and the folks on the Bucks board are mercilous on his "stories". He is a horrid reporter than doesn't appear to have any sources inside the new Bucks FO and has repeatedly embarrassed himself.

No one knows what is going on with Larry. The team has maintained absolute secrecy whatever is going on. And it does appear to be significant. I am not even saying this report is inaccurate. What I'm saying is that the next time Woeful breaks a story will be the first time he breaks a story.

He has missed the last 6 games. He hasn't played since a 50 minute player's only meeting that appears to have gone awry.

This is very true. Gery is the absolute worst person to trust with this stuff, the amount of times he's been wrong is staggering. I would take anything and everything he says with something as uncertain and as secretive as this with a grain of salt. That's not to say there's no way he's right this time around, but I'd wait for better sources...

[Brokenbeat]

Lots of things. It depends on what you want out of life. People think that my job is cool and I personally think that it sucks. I'd rather do anything other than this but the money is good. I'm not happy and I'm tired of it. I've been doing it for 22 years and I'm just over it. Lots of people who know me can't believe I would say that. But I don't love my job and would gladly take on a new challenge if I thought that I could make a decent living off of it. I do tattoos btw. I'm a professional musician also but that work is just here and there anymore (mores because I don't pursue it). While I love music and love being a musician, I'm in my 40s now and don't really want to tour anymore as a means to make money. I would take more than $250K to get me to go on the road for a year. It's just not where my head's at anymore.

In a similar situation here, lol. Nothing glamorous about living out of a suitcase and dealing with airports on the regular.

[ukballer]

Tough to say, but I do think the lifestyle is often glorified a little bit (i.e. play a little ball, make millions and be comfortable). Clearly, to 99.4% of players who make it to the League, the lifestyle is more than fine enough - at least to convince them to hang on as long as possible and rake in the heavy dough.

However, I'd imagine the NBA is very physically demanding hard work, followed by seemingly endless business travel and constant derision while being in the spotlight.

Not to mention, for the larger sized players in particular, it doesn't always blow my mind when it's revealed they're not passionate about playing basketball. When you're one of the biggest humans in the entire world - and you've developed some impressive athleticism - that already puts you on the fast track for a possible professional basketball career. I imagine some have even been backed into it, begrudgingly developing themselves as a ballplayer because they've been told they have a chance.

Still, again, for the vast majority - even the non-passionate - the perks of NBA life have eclipsed the downfalls. But that doesn't mean it's an open and shut case for everyone.

Good post. Same applies to a Football/Soccer player called Benoit Assou-Ekotto has been very frank about the fact he plays purely for the money, and doesn't have a passion for the game, he just happened to be pretty good at it when he tried it.

http://www.theguardian.com/football/...tenham-hotspur