Jared Sullinger has been a highly thought of basketball player since he was in high school. Before he attended Ohio State for two years Sullinger was the number two overall recruit in the 2010 class. After two straight years of being a first team All-American at Ohio State Sullinger decided to enter the NBA Draft in 2012. Since he decided to enter the draft things haven't gone as well for the Columbus, Ohio native.
When the pre-draft process was going on there were a lot of teams concerned with Sullinger's back and because of that he slipped all the way to the 21st pick in the first round where the Boston Celtics took him. Sullinger was considered a lottery talent but a lot of teams didn't like the way his back looked when they ran their tests.
Since Sullinger has been in the NBA his back has been fine but the major problem has been his weight issues. Sullinger has regularly reported to the Celtics overweight and unable to play big minutes. Every year it seems like the talk about Sullinger is that he needs to come to camp in shape and so far that has yet to happen. That may change this year though as Sullinger has reportedly been working with a trainer all offseason and is in good shape according to Jay King of Masslive.com.
Sullinger's trainer, John Lucas, has reportedly said that Sullinger is in great shape and that he is ready to have a "special" season. Sullinger has actually been very good in his career with the Celtics so far he just hasn't quite lived up to the lofty expectations that come with being as talented as he is. Sullinger also hasn't been in good enough shape to play the kind of minutes the Celtics would have wanted him to.
Sullinger took a huge step forward in his second NBA season when he averaged 13.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game so the Celtics were expecting another step forward in year three. Unfortunately Sullinger's production plateaued in year three as he averaged 13.3 points and 7.6 rebounds per game. Sullinger did lead the Celtics in rebounding and blocks last season but he didn't take a step forward on a personal level.
Sullinger is still just 23 years old and has already proven he could be a very good NBA player. If he can somehow figure out his weight issues and report to the Celtics in good shape then sky is the limit for him. Sullinger has averaged 11 & 7 in just 25 minutes per game in his career so just imagine what those numbers could be if he was able to play a full game.
If Sullinger proves to head coach Brad Stevens he is in shape he has a chance to compete for a starting spot but as of right now he may not be a favorite to start at the beginning of the year. David Lee is reportedly a likely starter in the frontcourt and so is Amir Johnson so Sullinger is going to have some work to do to make his way into the first unit.
