Best Case -- Sullinger

[Bayou Tribe]

Looking at some recent mock drafts, I see Sullinger going 10 to New Orleans. I haven't watched his college career nearly as close as you guys have, so I'm curious to get the home state opinion. What's the ceiling for this guy? Al Horford-like, or am I setting my sights too high?

[pup]

Looking at some recent mock drafts, I see Sullinger going 10 to New Orleans. I haven't watched his college career nearly as close as you guys have, so I'm curious to get the home state opinion. What's the ceiling for this guy? Al Horford-like, or am I setting my sights too high?

Kevin Love

[e0y2e3]

Sullinger can't carry Horford's jock.

Horford is a bona-fide annual All-Star, one of the best low post defenders in the league and a guy who can score inside and out.

Sullinger is going to be a solid rotation big who is going to be down-right brutal on D. Fuck, I don't understand why a team with Davis, Gustavo and Jason Smith would even think about grabbing him too, especially when they so desperately need a replacement for Ariza.

Some fucks here will tell you his ceiling is Kevin Love though, so you came to the right place.

[Bayou Tribe]

Some fucks here will tell you his ceiling is Kevin Love though, so you came to the right place.

I just saw pup setting the bait ahead of you. I didn't realize Sullinger was so suspect on D. I mean, I saw the Kansas game, but having only watched him 1 or 2 times before I wasn't sure if that was a misnomer or what. Most are onboard with letting Kaman walk and leaning on AD, Oakafor, Smith and Goose.

The consensus with Hornets' fans right now is that they'd like to upgrade the 3, but it's unsure what the draft will give at 10. May have to go for a pg (Lillard or Marshall), or a guy like Rivers who can spell Gordon and roll the dice that he could potentially grow into a scoring pg.

[e0y2e3]

Sullinger is going to be miserable on D and most of his scoring game is going to be hustle post points or mid-range jumpers.

He's about as meh as it gets as a prospect, severely limited by terrible athleticism and a game that works for a fat big boy when he's undersized.

He wishes he was Al Horford, who is one of the best in the business, period.

Not to mention drafting some insurance for Gordon should he bolt or spend his annual 50 games on the IR wouldn't be a terrible idea. I love Gordon to death but he's now at < 50% of his games for the last what.... four years?

[neoleo]

Yeah, not on Horford's level. He's shown flashes of having an outside jumper, but he'll need to perfect it to be effective in the league. Dude got murdered everytime he played against a solid big and got his shots blocked regularly even against crappy bigs. He's not good on D, but I don't think he's as bad as he sometimes looked. The OSU philosophy under Matta is to not foul (since they only play 7 guys, tops). Sully often just moved out of the way and allowed his guy to score. Maddening, but I think the physical ability is there to defend in the post better than he showed in college. He'll always be undersized and lacking lateral quickness though. At best, with a perfected jumper and by getting in the best shape of his life, I can see a Boozer comp.

[rebelwithoutaclue]

DeJuan Blair with 2 good ACL's.

[motherscratcher]

IDK, I've heard that Sullinger is going to work on his outside shot over the summer and come back a big with 3 point range. He's got at least 3 months to nail that down. I saw him hit a 3-pointer during the NCAA tourney so I know he has the skills.

Could be a very valuable piece to match up with Davis when he's dragging defenders out of the paint.

That's what I heard anyway.

[andrew6586]

Sully will be solid off the bench but nothing more. In my opinion, he did better in college when he was heavier. He needs to get fat again.

[jb]

[Bayou Tribe]

Thanks for the info, guys. I haven't seen anything other than a few mocks that have him 10th, and don't know of any interest on the Hornets part. Earlier in the week they brought in two groups to workout (Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Meyers Leonard, Arnett Moultrie, Terrence Jones in one and then Austin Rivers, Jeremy Lamb, Terrence Ross, Terrell Stoglin in the second). Rumors following were that Monty Williams really liked Zeller and Rivers as potential targets at #10.

[pup]

Thanks for the info, guys. I haven't seen anything other than a few mocks that have him 10th, and don't know of any interest on the Hornets part. Earlier in the week they brought in two groups to workout (Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Meyers Leonard, Arnett Moultrie, Terrence Jones in one and then Austin Rivers, Jeremy Lamb, Terrence Ross, Terrell Stoglin in the second). Rumors following were that Monty Williams really liked Zeller and Rivers as potential targets at #10.

Personally, I take Austin Rivers over everyone in this draft but Anthony Davis.

[Bayou Tribe]

Thanks for the info, guys. I haven't seen anything other than a few mocks that have him 10th, and don't know of any interest on the Hornets part. Earlier in the week they brought in two groups to workout (Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Meyers Leonard, Arnett Moultrie, Terrence Jones in one and then Austin Rivers, Jeremy Lamb, Terrence Ross, Terrell Stoglin in the second). Rumors following were that Monty Williams really liked Zeller and Rivers as potential targets at #10.

Personally, I take Austin Rivers over everyone in this draft but Anthony Davis.

The prospect of Rivers at 10 is starting to grow on me. Naturally, he'll get compared to the 3 year guys coming out alongside him, but he's got as much if not more potential than most of them.

[e0y2e3]

Thanks for the info, guys. I haven't seen anything other than a few mocks that have him 10th, and don't know of any interest on the Hornets part. Earlier in the week they brought in two groups to workout (Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Meyers Leonard, Arnett Moultrie, Terrence Jones in one and then Austin Rivers, Jeremy Lamb, Terrence Ross, Terrell Stoglin in the second). Rumors following were that Monty Williams really liked Zeller and Rivers as potential targets at #10.

Tyler Zeller >>>> Sullinger

[rebelwithoutaclue]

Thanks for the info, guys. I haven't seen anything other than a few mocks that have him 10th, and don't know of any interest on the Hornets part. Earlier in the week they brought in two groups to workout (Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Meyers Leonard, Arnett Moultrie, Terrence Jones in one and then Austin Rivers, Jeremy Lamb, Terrence Ross, Terrell Stoglin in the second). Rumors following were that Monty Williams really liked Zeller and Rivers as potential targets at #10.

Personally, I take Austin Rivers over everyone in this draft but Anthony Davis.

I'd still take MKG and Beal above him, but wouldn't complain if the Cavs took him at 4. When everyone else is blah, gimme pedigree.

[StewieG]

Best case for Sullinger is Boozer. I'm dubious as to whether or not he measures up.

I really like Rivers as a guy off the bench in the Jason Terry role. Guy who can come in for 20-25 minutes a night and light up the opposing 2nd team. IMO you could do a lot worse than him.

[jb]

Best case for Sullinger is Boozer. I'm dubious as to whether or not he measures up.

He's Danny Fortson.

[StewieG]

Best case for Sullinger is Boozer. I'm dubious as to whether or not he measures up.

He's Danny Fortson.

Psh. Danny Fortson only hit 2 three's in 10 years. Sully's gonna get that in his first 10 minutes.

[noahpoinar]

David Lee only better rebounder and worse on offense and one leg that's an inch shorter than the other.

[YahooFanChicago]

Sullinger has the potential to be voted 2nd team all-rookie in the NBA.

[pup]

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2012/story/_/id/8094012/2012-nba-draft-former-ohio-state-bucketes-star-jared-sullinger-not-invited-draft

Jared Sullinger not invited to draft

NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson told ESPN.com that Sullinger wouldn't be invited based on the reports the league had received that Sullinger wouldn't go in the top 15.

[peeker643]

http://espn.go.com/nba/draft2012/story/_/id/8094012/2012-nba-draft-former-ohio-state-bucketes-star-jared-sullinger-not-invited-draft

Jared Sullinger not invited to draft

NBA executive vice president Stu Jackson told ESPN.com that Sullinger wouldn't be invited based on the reports the league had received that Sullinger wouldn't go in the top 15.

Was Kevin Love at the draft?

[e0y2e3]

Yes, Kevin Love was.

And thank fucking christ, I bitched about this kid as a pro-prospect for two years, only to have asshats like JB parading around ranting and raving about his talent and now he could end up in the discussion for the Cavs with the 24th pick.

The world makes a lot more sense when you take off your Buckeye homer goggles.

[Bayou Tribe]

I still think someone reaches out and takes him earlier than warranted (12-15), but I think your point is well taken.

[rk]

Yes, Kevin Love was.

And thank fucking christ, I bitched about this kid as a pro-prospect for two years, only to have asshats like JB parading around ranting and raving about his talent and now he could end up in the discussion for the Cavs with the 24th pick.

The world makes a lot more sense when you take off your Buckeye homer goggles.

Isn't this drop due to concerns about his back or is Ford no longer a good source of information? And I'm not a regular around here by any means but I do not recall you talking about how bad his back was two years ago. ;)

Seriously he produced at a high level in college but you have expressed well reasoned concerns about his ability to find a legit position in the NBA - particularly on defense. That makes perfect sense to me as to why he is not worthy of a top 5 pick in the draft and someone has to justify top 10. But he still produced at a high level against other big teams in college and still has a feel for the ball that makes it likely he will be a producer on offense in the NBA. He's also has a pretty good understanding of the mental side of the game and has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. A skill that comes from the intuitive understanding of the game that Drummond/Barnes/et al don't have.

Ford had him at 11 in his prospect list this year and had him in the mix as first overall before he returned to school last year so I am unclear why you are patting yourself on the back about hating on him for two years. He's obviously still looked at as having good potential for starting out of the gates for a lot of NBA teams sans back.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/6485 ... ture-plans

Chad Ford of ESPN says of Sullinger that "Given that his biggest negatives are his lack of height and explosive athleticism, which won't be easy to improve, another year of college experience should only marginally help his draft stock next year. Look for him to be a potential top-five pick again in 2012."

[e0y2e3]

JJ Reddick had the same back red flag and got a DUI right before the draft, he still went at #11.

Sullinger's back plays a roll, but the biggest cause in his drop is his ability. Guys that people think will be elite still get drafted in the lottery, back being impacted by "tight hamstrings" or not.

And Sullinger was never, ever, ever, ever in the mix for #1. That has been Anthony Davis for ever.

Sullinger is as meh as meh gets.

[swerb]

Sullinger changed his Twitter pic to Underdog.

Jared Sullinger ‏@Jared_Sully0
I guess I got another ladder to climb. It's nothing new same ole SULLY

[dmiles]

Some teams are running guys out there like TT, can Sully have a +- advantage over TT? Elite player no way, but certainly will have some advantageous matchups if he gets on the type of team that can protect him a little.