Last week, Larry Sanders and the Milwaukee Bucks agreed to terms on a buyout of the troubled center's four-year, $44 million contract, which he signed in 2013. And after speculation about why the 26-year-old has left his NBA future uncertain, Sanders finally gave his abrupt departure a sense of clarity.

In a video published by The Players' Tribune, Sanders the promising defensive force offered his side of the story.

"Well, I know I disappeared for a while, and people were wondering where I was," he said regarding his absence from the Bucks around Christmas amidst rumors of his desire to play basketball.

"I actually entered into Rogers Memorial Hospital and it was a program for anxiety, depression and mood disorders. It taught me a lot about myself. It taught me a lot about what's important and where I would want to devote my time and energy."

"I think I love basketball. I'll always be playing basketball. But for it to be consuming so much of my life and time right now, that's"”it's not there for me. It's not that worth it."

"I wish I could have said goodbye formally to the Bucks at the arena, at the Bradley Center. I want them to know that it was never about them. It was never about the fans or how they treated me, because that was awesome. These decisions are for my family," Sanders said.

He also touched on his Cannabis use, for which the NBA has suspended him multiple times.

"Cannabis came later on in my life. It was for me, used medically, for some of the symptoms that I was having due to a lot of stress and the pressure I was under, given my work."

"You come into the league, you get dropped this large amount of money out of nowhere. People automatically change around you. That just happens. You become an ATM to some people. You have to be correct in your statements. You have to state things a certain way. You give up your freedom of speech, for real. You really can't say how you feel. There's no one really, you know, trying to guide, teach you what you should do and shouldn't do."

And for those who comment that he had 44 million reasons to stay with his day job, he also had a message.

"I think this seems to be a desirable, lucrative job and position, so people say, "How could you be unhappy there? How could that be a place you don't want to be?' Values and the relationships with the people I love"”that's like, my real riches. That's my lasting wealth. Happiness is an internal thing," Sanders said.