Jared Sullinger is out of work and he’s hoping a new NBA contract would come knocking at his doorstep before the next pizza delivery man does. Sullinger is aware that a reason why teams aren’t contacting his agent that much this summer is because of his struggles to keep his weight at an unacceptable level.
Speaking with Rob Oller of the Columbus Dispatch, Sullinger was very candid of his weight issues as it relates to him being unemployed.
“I lost a year of basketball directly because of what I have done — my weight and my eating habits,” he said, explaining how his unwillingness to shed pounds led the Celtics to release him in 2016 and later contributed to the Toronto Raptors trading him to Phoenix on Feb. 23. The Suns cut him the next day.
Sullinger knows that he has to cut some of those excess fats down if he wants NBA teams' attention and it appears that he’s finding ways to do just that. In fact, he’s currently in Brooklyn playing in the “The Basketball Tournament” alongside some fellow Ohio State alumnus. Incidentally, Ohio State Buckeyes beat reporter Dan Hope has noted that ESPN's Fran Fraschilla noticed the presence of the Brooklyn Nets in the tournament to see Sullinger play. That’s not much but at least someone’s actually paying attention to Sullinger, who hopes that he could parlay his play in the tournament into an NBA deal soon.
Sullinger played in just 11 games last season for the Raptors, averaging a paltry 3.4 points per game. Sullinger was traded in February to the Suns, who immediately waived him. When healthy and fully motivated, Sullinger is at least a serviceable starter-quality big man who could stretch the floor with his perimeter game.
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