Jared

Sullinger

It’s a no-brainer for one of the most productive players in college basketball over the last two years. Sullinger, a two-time All-American, led the Buckeyes to a 63-10 record as a starter and is coming off a season in which he averaged 17.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 1.1 blocks. At 6'9/280, he’s a little small to play center in the NBA, but he’s currently projected as a late-lottery pick.

The Warriors, who have the No. 7 pick, are also keen on Sullinger. He may not actually be taken in the mid-lottery range, however, especially after a poor showing at the pre-draft combine. Sullinger had a relatively high body-fat percentage (10.7 percent), his nine weight-bench reps were unimpressive, he struggled in agility drills (12.77 seconds, slowest of any first-round prospect), and his sprint time of 3.81 seconds was the second-worst of any prospect.

The length of the deal is a bit surprising considering KG was mulling retirement, but it’s a huge coup for the Celtics. Not only was Garnett playing at an extremely high level last season, he gives Boston a future-HOF mentor for Jared Sullinger and Fab Melo, and could be critical to attempts to woo Ray Allen. Fantasy owners shouldn’t discount the elder statesman -- over the final two months of last season he was the No. 11 player in nine-cat leagues.

“I know for a fact I’m getting into better shape with all the games we’re playing,” he said. We’d certainly hope that playing games would help Sullinger develop, so we’re not getting too excited about him stating the obvious. There are still concerns that Sullinger will struggle in certain areas, but he’s established himself as someone that can box out effectively and could be a factor on the glass.

With David Lee on a lucrative deal and the team having just traded for Andrew Bogut at the 2012 deadline, we’re not putting a ton of stock into this one. Golden State has a massive hole at small forward, and it would make much more sense for the team to target a prospect who would fill that void. Additionally, No. 7 seems awfully high for Sullinger to be selected.

Andre Drummond also reportedly lost 22 lbs. since his time at UConn, and 22 seems to be the magic number thus far. Projected as a potential lottery pick, Sullinger’s draft stock remains rather volatile currently.

John Henson was reportedly “solid” in his workout, and that will continue to fuel speculation that the team will look to pair him alongside Greg Monroe when the Pistons are on the clock. It’s “possible” the Pistons could trade back into the first round for a chance at Sullinger, but that will ultimately depend how far the Ohio State product slides on draft night.

This is a big workout for the Pistons as it will likely go a long way toward determining what the team does with its No. 9 pick on draft night. Speculation has been swirling that the Pistons are ready to hop on Henson should he remain available, but the club could certainly go in another direction as well. With just 72 hours until draft day, Henson has a chance to solidify himself as the Pistons’ top target.

Not getting an invitation means that the NBA front office has inclination to think that Sullinger will not go in the top 15 picks of the draft. This makes sense as Sullinger had a horrific pre-draft workout in Chicago and was recently “medically red flagged” by a number of NBA doctors due to back issues. The one-time projected lottery pick has fallen as far as the second round in some mock drafts. It will be interesting to see who rolls the dice on Sullinger, who was a two-time All-American at Ohio State.

Sullinger’s back isn’t giving him any issues, but this could be an early indication that Boston will be cautious with their rookie big man. Tyronn Lue, who is coaching the Celts’ squad, confirmed that Sullinger was simply being rested.