Jared Sullinger's agent says contract extension was never an option

http://www.masslive.com/celtics/index.ssf/2015/11/boston_celtics_rumors_2015_jar_3.html



Boston Celtics rumors 2015: Jared Sullinger's agent says contract extension was never an option





Boston Celtics' Jared Sullinger reacts to play from the bench during the third quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers in Boston, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2015. The Pacers won 102-91. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)


Jay King | mjking@masslive.com By Jay King | mjking@masslive.com


on November 12, 2015 at 7:05 PM




The Boston Celtics had until the Nov. 2 deadline to ink Sullinger to an extension. But they weren't going to offer him a max deal -- which, to agent David Falk, meant they didn't need to bother with any contract talks.

"We didn't spend one second discussing an extension for him," Falk told the Herald's Steve Bulpett. "(Celtics president of basketball operations) Danny (Ainge) wasn't in a position to give the max, so there was really nothing to talk about.

"I've never done a contract extension for a rookie who didn't make the max since 1996. You have to understand I'm not a rookie in this league. The GMs all know."

Explaining the decision, Falk said, "I've never extended a rookie unless they came through and decided to give us the max, because it doesn't make any sense. All it can do is give you security. So a lot of agents do it because they're worried that some other agent's going to come in or that the guy's lost his mojo."

The Celtics had reservations about Sullinger's weight and health entering this season, but he has been great through seven games, averaging 11.4 points and 8.4 rebounds over 23 minutes per game. On the surface, those numbers don't look much different than the ones he posted in previous years. But advanced statistics show he is exceeding previous career highs in just about every major category, often by wide margins. League-wide, the 23-year-old is 10th in offensive rebound rate, 18th in defensive rebound rate, and 19th in PER.

"I don't know if (league leader) numbers are applicable yet, but that's a good sign," head coach Brad Stevens said before Wednesday's loss to Indiana. "Obviously, it's better than not being. I think that the biggest thing is that, defensively, I think he's improved, he's been very good at reading when to be back and when to be up, especially in pick-and-roll coverages. Then, offensively, he's taking what the defense is giving him and he's shooting great, he's scoring off offensive rebounds, he's in the post yesterday a little bit. He's a guy that can score a variety of ways and the more that he can take advantage of in a game, the better."

Sullinger will be a restricted free agent next season once the Celtics extend him a qualifying offer. The team will have the opportunity to match any offer he receives.



bob
MY NOTE:  Based upon Danny's previous history (e.g. Rondo, Green, Perk) I think this means "bye bye Sully".  I do not see Danny allowing himself to be held hostage by an agent/player who is going to insist upon a max contract, especially one who has never been an all-star or league leader in any category. Rondo, at least, had those two.

Is Sully worth the max?


.

Very few players are worth a max contract. Sullinger isn't one of them.

That David Falk is a funny guy!

No way Sully is worth max money.

Whatever falk is smoking I wanna couple tons of it to sell in colorado and then I will be buying the NBA next Monday morning 8 am sharp.

If (and it is a big IF) he had averaged 18 ppg and 11 rpg he could probably expect a max contract right after his rookie contract expires. Even now with playing pretty well to start this season his stats are still far below 18 and 11.

BUTT, he has not averaged anything close to 18 and 11, has missed significant time with injuries and has carried the large concern relating to his fitness for the three years he has been in Boston. Too risky for anyone to hand him a max deal.

I guess when 'rotation' players get max deals, he should probably get one, too. However, I see him much more as a rotational player during his career than ever becoming a star player, but will wish him luck in trying to get that max contract.

A couple games ago Abbie Chin was recounting a conversation with Sully, and he said something about how he's paying attention to defense now, as opposed to just resting to conserve energy for offense. Scal wasn't impressed.

I'm surprised Sully and his agent didn't notice how well Rondo fared with his aspirations of landing a max contract... hmm.

I will miss Sully.

Need more than 9 games to evaluate what we have in Sully going forward, but right now hes our best big. In this new era of small ball and spacing, Tristan Thompson still managed to get a max or near max deal, all he does is board, there is still the need for beasts in the paint. Sully can board with him and has a much better rounded offensive game. I would take Sully over Thompson any day, so there will be teams ready to give David Falk close to what he wants for Sully if he continues on his improved play.

Here are the league-wide maximum salaries. Note that there are exceptions to the maximum salary (see question number 17).


Years in NBA1

Defined maximum salary

2011-12

2012-13

2013-14

2014-15

2015-16

0 - 6 years =25% of cap or $16,407,500 for this season.

7 - 9 years =30% of cap or $19,689,000 for this season
10+ years =35% of cap or $22,970,500 for this season.

what's the cap numbers projected for next season....$89M?

25% of $89M would be $22.25M for a max deal for a player of less than 6 years.


Sully won't get that anywhere, unless he gets up to 18pt/10 reb per game this year. Even then maybe not with his injury history.


what many "so-called" sports writers seem to forget is that the NBA MAX salarys are tied deirectly to the NBA salary cap number (as a %).

so while some seem to think that with the cap going up, every team will be able to have 2-3 MAX salary players on their teams, the reality is much different.

The AVERAGE and even MEDIAN NBA salary will increase, but the total number of max salary players will only increase slightly.


as for Sully, if he stays healthy all year and plays like now, I think he WILL be up for a possible Payday similar to Thompson ( in the $12-14M range).

kdp what did Thompson get? wasn't sure how close to max it was?

Thompson got a 5yr/$82M deal

Basketball reference has his listed at $14.26M this year in salary .

http://www.basketball-reference.com/contracts/CLE.html


Like I said I think that's VERY TOP end for Sully next year.

Thanks kdp I could see Sully getting that as long as he stays healthy, he always could board, has great hands and knack of scoring inside, his defense has improved....we'll see. Too bad we don't have Mr Intimadator next to him, then Sully would really go off.

Cleveland vastly overpaid for a player of Tristan Thompson's limited abilities. He's not the standard by which Sullinger's salary should be judged. Thompson's contract is essentially the same as Draymond Green's, and Green is a much, much better player.

Thompson has the same agent as LeBron, and Cleveland has basically committed to doing whatever it takes to keep LeBron happy, which means paying whatever it takes to win a title. They have by far the highest payroll in the league.

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/

I don;t see anyone on the roster worth a max deal. I just see a collection of pretty good players that click well together and can compete with anyone.

Save the max contract for a gem, Ainge.


KJ

k_j_88 wrote:I don;t see anyone on the roster worth a max deal. I just see a collection of pretty good players that click well together and can compete with anyone.

Save the max contract for a gem, Ainge.

KJ

Yup, I agree.

Spending your max money on average players is like being stuck with the 7th or 8th seed year after year, it gets you nothing to get to the next level.

gyso