Nov 21, 2014; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Milwaukee Bucks center Larry Sanders (8) against the Toronto Raptors at Air Canada Centre. The Raptors beat the Bucks 124-83. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports

According to ESPN, the Milwaukee Bucks are seeking to buyout the remainder of Larry Sanders’ contract. How far we’ve come from seeing Larry as the player with the most potential on the team, a stalwart defensive center who could anchor the Bucks for years. The 26-year-old Sanders is currently on the first year of his four-year, $44 million contract extension (its a flat contract, meaning Sanders’ would’ve made exactly $11 million per year).

If the Bucks and Sanders can agree to a buyout, it wouldn’t save the team any money in the long run but it could greatly help the team’s buying power in free agency for the next few seasons. Sanders would be paid the rest of this year’s contract (unless he gets signed by another team, then Milwaukee would have to pay less due to the right of set-off) but the remaining $33 million could get stretched over double the years left on the contract plus one due to the stretch provision. That means Milwaukee would have about $4.7 million in dead money every season (until the 2022-23 season, yeesh) instead of having $11 million in dead money each season for the next three.

Of course if a team claimed Sanders off waivers it’d be like a second Christmas in February to Bucks fans. That team would then inherit Sanders’ contract entirely, meaning Milwaukee would be completely off the hook. Spoiler alert: that is not going to happen. No GM is willing to take that big of a gamble just to acquire a center who nearly averaged a double/double once two years ago.

Now that we have some idea of the very convoluted financial situation at play, let’s look at some pros and cons of the Milwaukee Bucks buying out Larry Sanders.