Sullinger's Develpmont/ Sully vs KO

[LooseCannon]

The fact that he's seven foot tall and can hit the jumper from deep, but also put the ball on the floor and go by people when they rush at him, is going to cause a lot of trouble for defenders.  It's hard to know what to do with a guy like Kelly who can do so many things offensively. 

One can look at Pero Antic and the Hawks against Roy Hibbert and the Pacers.  Or see how much of a problem  Lamarcus Aldridge (80% of his shots are jumpers) poses for Houston.

Teams need a perimeter big and a guy who can guard big men out to the three-point line.

Olynyk, if he hits his ceiling and becomes an adequate defender, would have a much harder-to-replace skill set than an equally maxed-out Sullinger.

[PhoSita]

I definitely don't think that just saying defenses weren't paying any attention to him during the second half of the season does justice to the improvements he made over the course of his rookie campaign.

I agree, and I don't mean to suggest that his success is entirely due to that.  But I feel that it was a factor.

[Celtics18]

I definitely don't think that just saying defenses weren't paying any attention to him during the second half of the season does justice to the improvements he made over the course of his rookie campaign.

I agree, and I don't mean to suggest that his success is entirely due to that.  But I feel that it was a factor.

Either way, he showed me enough to believe that his potential could well be higher than Jared Sullinger's. 

I know reticence tends to be the name of the game around here, but I'm going out on a limb (I've been sitting on that limb since summer league) and saying that I think Kelly Olynyk will be a very good NBA starting power forward. 

[vjcsmoke]

Sullinger needs to shape up his body and lose weight so he can become more mobile.  KO needs to strengthen up his body so he can bang better with bigs without losing position.

Upside-wise, I think KO is more versatile offensively and if you look at his last three games, they are very impressive and looks like he has the potential to go on runs scoring 20+ eventually:

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/2489663/kelly-olynyk

DATE OPP SCORE MIN FGM-FGA FG% 3PM-3PA 3P% FTM-FTA FT% REB AST BLK STL PF TO PTS
Wed 4/16 vs

WSH
 L 102-118 30 10-16 .625 0-2 .000 4-5 .800 7 5 0 1 5 1 24
Mon 4/14 @

PHI
 L 108-113 35 10-19 .526 2-3 .667 6-7 .857 9 3 0 0 4 2 28
Sat 4/12 @

CLE
 W 111-99 39 11-23 .478 2-5 .400 1-1 1.000 12 3 0 0 6 4 25

[mmmmm]

The fact that he's seven foot tall and can hit the jumper from deep, but also put the ball on the floor and go by people when they rush at him, is going to cause a lot of trouble for defenders.  It's hard to know what to do with a guy like Kelly who can do so many things offensively. 

One can look at Pero Antic and the Hawks against Roy Hibbert and the Pacers.  Or see how much of a problem  Lamarcus Aldridge (80% of his shots are jumpers) poses for Houston.

Teams need a perimeter big and a guy who can guard big men out to the three-point line.

Olynyk, if he hits his ceiling and becomes an adequate defender, would have a much harder-to-replace skill set than an equally maxed-out Sullinger.

It is an interesting question:  What is 'maxed out' for each player?

I think the maxed out ceiling for Sullinger is probably Wes Unseld with an outside shot.

Is Olynyk's max celiing Dirk?   Maybe with a dash of McHale-in-the-Post added?

Either would be pretty valuable to have.

[fandrew]

I really don't see any controversy. Both are young bigs who are developing nicely. This summer is important for both of them.

Sully needs to get better conditioning and work on his range (26% 3-pt shooting is not good enough to stretch the floor) and continue to improve his defensive game.

KO needs to get in better shape as well, add some muscle and work on his defense. He can seemingly shoot from anywhere and has great offensive footwork, with lots of moves inside. However, he needs to improve from that upfake that no one falls for (and just shoot the ball!), and his long drives to the basket.

Both have all the tools to be really good in this league. And I can see them both being starter material if they put the work in.

So I don't see a point in trading these guys this summer. I think there will be more value for them next summer if we were interested in using them in trades.

[clover]

If the C's are going to keep both and maximize their value, they both have to play at least 30 minutes a game next year--and probably could use more.

At 35 minutes apiece, they have to play at least 22 minutes together in a game, which means they have minimal rim protection for almost half the game. If they both start, the team is also hampered against the league's best centers. I don't see how that maximizes both players' value.

[mmmmm]

If the C's are going to keep both and maximize their value, they both have to play at least 30 minutes a game next year--and probably could use more.

At 35 minutes apiece, they have to play at least 22 minutes together in a game, which means they have minimal rim protection for almost half the game. If they both start, the team is also hampered against the league's best centers. I don't see how that maximizes both players' value.

Yeah, that's a legit concern.   But you need 96 minutes total to cover both the PF & C positions.

If you can get at least one really good 7 footer with defensive chops who can play 36 minutes, then you can rotate all three in.   You just have to consider match ups.    'Only put the KO+JS combo on the floor when the matchups favor it.

Also remember, they DO tend to complement each other pretty well offensively.   If the two of them can, with experience, become at least _adequate_ defensively together, they should still present a net positive duo because of where there offense and rebounding will likely be.

[the_Bird]

Yeah, the guy they need to get out of there (and replace with a legit, defensive-minded seven footer) is Bass.  Sully and KO need playing time, and you can probably get by with them playing together for 15 or 20 minutes a night...  but you need an Asik-type to shore up the middle defensively.

Long-term, I'm not sure there's room for both guys, if they both develop as we hope.  I really don't want to see either guy at the 5 spot for more than those limited minutes.  For now, though, I think you've got to hold onto them and keep developing them, because I'm not sure how much trade value they really have.  I like Sully, but I don't see him as being good enough to be the centerpiece for getting Love, as an example.  And KO was looking better at the end of the season, but I don't see how he's got a lot more value today than he did on the day he was drafted.  If those guys can keep playing and keep developing, they should have a lot more value as trade assets in another year.

[footey]

My preference is to keep both, and make sure we accumulate more foot speed down low at the 3,  4 and 5 spot.  Each guy can give us 30-35 minutes a game, which will enable us to sometimes use them together and other times to alternate, depending on match-ups.  When they are in together, will usually be against smaller line-ups not featuring a big 5, and will need to have defensive athleticism at the 3 (think Gordon) when they play together.   Both guys are extremely coach-able and likable, not to mention talented.  Not easy to find guys that have all three of those qualities.