Jared Sullinger might want to watch his back, if one of the more trusted NBA draft analysts is to be believed.
In his latest edition of the 2015 NBA mock draft, ESPN’s Chad Ford cast doubt on Sullinger’s future with the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. In predicting the Celtics will take Kentucky forward Trey Lyles with the No. 16 overall pick, Ford had this to say:
“He’s not going to be a superstar for Boston, but Lyles is the type of heady player that should thrive in Brad Stevens’ system. He has a soft touch around the basket, a sweet mid-range jumper and just understands the game. With Brandon Bass and Jonas Jerebko both hitting free agency this summer, there’s going to be need at the four behind (or maybe in front of) Jared Sullinger.”
That’s obviously a shot fired at Sullinger, who has started 93 of the 132 games in which he’s appeared over the last two seasons. But the 23-year-old big man has had an eventful third season in the NBA.
Sullinger was late arriving to the arena twice in four days in January and February, leading head coach Brad Stevens to remove him from the starting lineup. A broken foot, which was initially expected to shut Sullinger down for the season in February, prompted Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge to rip Sullinger’s conditioning in a radio interview.
All that aside, though, Sullinger simply failed to take forward steps in what the Celtics hoped would be a breakout season. He averaged 13.3 points per game — an identical scoring average to last season — with 7.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game.
Sullinger, who made a surprise return with seven games remaining in the regular season, put up a stat line of four points, four rebounds and a blocked shot with three personal fouls in 13 minutes Sunday in the Celtics’ Game 1 playoff loss to the Cavs. He is signed through the 2015-16 season at $2.3 million before becoming eligible for restricted free agency in the summer of 2016.
Thumbnail photo via David Richard/USA TODAY Sports Images
