Jared Sullinger has faced a lot of discussion about his future with the Boston Celtics. The power forward has been good, but not great and injuries continue to be a factor in his development with the franchise. Sullinger has been a trade target for over a year now and yet the Celtics have held on to the big man. Now with talks of a contract headed his way, does Boston favor the power forward over big-named trades for DeMarcus Cousins or Tristan Thompson?
According to Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe is reporting the Celtics have begun preliminary talks with Sullinger regarding a contract extension. The power forward is eligible for a new deal before the October deadline and the Celtics might be aiming to get him at a discount. Given the injury history to Sullinger, he might aim to take the deal now and not later or he could bet on himself and hope to get a pay day next offseason when the salary caps increase.
The talks of a contract certainly contradict the rumors of the past year. Just last week, the Boston Herald reported Danny Ainge was looking for one last big trade before starting the season. After failing to get any of their intended marquee names last season, the Celtics could be in the market to make one final push. Of course the names that immediately come up on the radar are DeMarcus Cousins, Tristan Thompson and Markieff Morris. All three of those trades would likely need to include Sullinger and contract extension hurts the ability to make that happen.
The Celtics could still try and get a deal done. Kelly Olynyk and Evan Turner hold value. Perry Jones is a nice asset. There are some that believe Marcus Smart is expendable with the rise of Isaiah Thomas. MassLive.com is reporting that Thomas wants to compete for the starting point guard job. If the Celtics have faith in the point guard, Smart might be an easy addition to a trade package. It is hard to believe Boston views Sullinger as a better player than Morris, Thompson or Cousins, but nothing can be ruled out as the team continues to rebuild into the future.
