The Boston Celtics Should Bring Back Jared Sullinger
The Celtics are in dire need of rebounding help, and they could turn to an old friend to fix their problems.
On the day of the trade deadline, the Toronto Raptors traded Jared Sullinger and two second round picks to the Phoenix Suns for PJ Tucker. The Suns now plan to buyout the former Celtics power forward, which puts Boston in an interesting position.
Danny Ainge was very active at the deadline, but ultimately he did not make a single move to help his current roster. Standing pat is fine, but the rebounding issues the Celtics have had all season should require them to find help in that department.
Bringing back Sullinger would be beneficial for both sides. The Celtics need rebounding, and Sully needs a new start. He knows the system Brad Stevens runs, having been on the team last season, so there wouldn’t be much of an adjustment incorporating him in the team.
I don’t know about you, but I miss the way Sullinger would clear out space with his HUGE behind to grab rebound after rebound. In four seasons with the Celtics, Sullinger averaged 7.5 rebounds per game. That would be the best mark on Boston this year.
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Sullinger is only 24, and the reason the Celtics didn’t bring him back is because they had acquired Al Horford, and were chasing after Kevin Durant. Nobody knew what kind of money Sullinger would pull in, so his fit within the Celtics future was uncertain. For Boston to sign him now, it would cost very little money, which keeps their long term flexibility, as well as helps the team short term.
I think Sullinger would be the best option in the buy out market. Sully’s next opportunity might be one of his last, so he will have more than enough to play for. He would fit in the locker room easily, and his fit with the second unit is pretty simple.
The current bigs playing the most minutes for the bench are Kelly Olynyk and Jonas Jerebko. Not exactly the toughest guys to grab rebounds after the defense gets stops. Sullinger could play both power forward and center, while not sacrificing a ton of offensive space since he is a respectable shooter from the outside.
At 24, Sullinger could still be apart of the team’s foreseeable future. If he shows Stevens and Ainge that he has learned from his past mistakes, the Celtics would easily let players like Tyler Zeller and Jordan Mickey go to make room for him since Sully has more upside.
All the Celtics would need to do to sign Sullinger is waive a player like Demetrius Jackson. Jackson is a fine young player, but the amount of guards on the team diminishes his value to the Celtics moving forward. Sullinger’s rebounding prowess is much more of a need than Jackson’s skills.
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The Celtics need to sure up their rebounding problems if they hope to make a deep run in the playoffs this year as well as compete with Cleveland. There are other buy out options for the Celtics to sign, but Sullinger should make a return. As a Celtics fan, I miss him and his big butt creating space, so let’s bring him back Ainge. Why not?