Sullinger is a thick, strong man.
If he was so strong why only 9 reps of 185 of the combine? Why is his vertical not better. There are muscular strong guys in the NFL who have 40+ verticals.
I agree that he might not have lost as much weight but could be in better condition which would be a positive. I am a big time detractor and I think he has lost a marginal amount of weight but guys he does not look fatter in all fairness. Does he look in shape, not yet. But let us see what he does in camp before we condemn him.
Last year he put up 13+ pts and 7.5+ rebs in 27 minutes. He needs to improve on that both in terms of stats and in terms of non-stat impacts but say he gets the stats up to 15 pts and 10 rebs. That does not require a huge improvement or a transformation of the physical stature. He just needs to be in shape which he wasn't last season.
It is possible that he does not play as many minutes as last year, given we have depth and better players as bigs on the team. So his minutes may go down, especially give how many on this team are better defenders. He is without doubt probably our best rebounder. As far as shooting threes, if he does not make them as in the past, other teams will not guard him, and at sub 30% he really is not a threat that other teams respect. He also cannot drive around guys so they can either sag off and double team or play him close and with his lack of vertical plenty of guys can mess with his shot.
Do you think he is in shape this season? I am willing to think that he could be in better shape. But good shape, I doubt it.
Now, some people are wondering if he may be the one cut to trim the roster
I think if he did not meet management weight goals which looks like he did not and he lays an egg in training camp. If Mickey owned him a lot in practice and Lee and Amir abuse him, think this is possible. But that being said, I do not think it is even remotely probable. What if he gets an injury related to weight in camp, I could see us cutting ties then. But I think we bail on him, Ainge trades him. I just do not think that will happen.
I have seen several team previews where they marginalized the guys. Someone should send them to him and I hope he is type of guy who makes people want it eat it and prove them wrong. We will know more in a week.