Jared Sullinger vs. Kelly Olynyk: Who's the better fit for the Celtics?

http://www.celticsblog.com/2015/8/3/9088929/jared-sullinger-vs-kelly-olynyk-whos-the-better-fit-for-the-celtics



Jared Sullinger vs. Kelly Olynyk: Who's the better fit for the Celtics?
By Jeff Clark  @celticsblog on Aug 3, 2015, 6:17a 68






Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports
Who should get more minutes? Should one of them be traded?



David Lee and Amir Johnson have been added to the Celtics roster, which raises an obvious follow-on question.

What does that mean to Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk?

At some point I would imagine the Celtics will have to narrow down the roster and make a trade with some of their surplus.  Or at the very least, Brad Stevens will have to decide which player comes off the bench first in his rotations.

If you are having a little bit of deja vu, that is because we did talk about this a couple months ago.  But since we have a clearer idea of the offseason moves now, I figured it was a good enough time to re-hash this topic.

If the Celtics have to choose between Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk, who should they keep? - CelticsBlog

Jared Sullinger is seemingly farther along in his development at this point. He's got a crafty back-to-the-basket game, rebounding chops, and is developing a 3 point shot to stretch the floor (or at least keep defenses honest).  The problem is that he's struggled with conditioning and has to prove that he can stay in shape (and on the court) enough to help on switches late in the game.

Kelly Olynyk is a modern, face-up, stretch 4 with a lot of talents.  At his best he's hitting shots from deep, driving into the lane for easy buckets, and displaying deft passing instincts.  At his worst he's a deer in headlights afraid to shoot the ball and ineffective on either end of the floor.  He has less experience than Sullinger, so this year should tell us a lot.

My gut feeling is that Sullinger has more potential because there were times last year when he looked like the best player on the team. On the other hand, Olynyk looked timid at times but there are a lot of advanced stats that speak highly of him.  Both have been up and down so far in their careers for a number of reasons.  Both have been working on their games this summer.

Jared Sullinger has been working on his conditioning:

Brad Stevens has heard Boston Celtics forward Jared Sullinger is working hard this summer | masslive.com

"He's been working out in a couple different locations," Stevens said, as transcribed on ESPN Boston. "But everything that I have heard, every time I've spoken with him, every time I have spoken to people around him, it sounds like he's doing great. "Hey, he wants to be in the best shape of his life, he wants to be in great condition, and he's working towards that, and I think he's excited for a new season to show that's been his focus and to show off the work that he's put in to get there."

Kelly Olynyk worked out with the summer league team out in Utah.

Boston Globe

"You've got access to impeccable facilities in Waltham or in Boston, and you've got all the knowledge here," Olynyk said. "The coaches, the trainers — not only the strength trainers, but I go to the medical trainers — whatever you need is here. Why go somewhere else and pay for it all or do any of that when they want you to be around and I want to be around?"

So if you had to choose, who do you want to keep around?





bob
MY NOTE:  We should remember that Sully also has an extra year of NBA play under his belt.  Sully's weaknesses are that he is undersized for his position and has had a conditioning problem (we'll see if he still has it).  Kelly's problem is that he has a tendency towards timidity.  He is big for his natural position.  Both Sully and Kelly have been playing out of position, they are both 4s and they have been playing 5.  Sully, however, is undersized for both 4 and 5 while, at 7'0", Kelly is tall for his position.  When Kelly was drafted Danny said that he'd be a 4 in the NBA.  

http://www.82games.com/1415/14BOS20.HTM

http://www.82games.com/1415/14BOS19.HTM


The poll question isn't about who you like, it's about who you think fits in with Brad's system better.




.

It's hard to answer the poll questions without knowing the specifics of a proposed trade. I'd like to keep both another year or at least half year despite the logjam at the 4. If Sully is in shape and injury-free, he is a keeper On the other hand, I think Kelly could be an all-star if he gains confidence and muscle.
Many of our players are in same category - good enough to want to keep, not good enough to be untouchable. Essentially, I'm counting the days until camp.
Hawk

This is a great topic for discussion, and our breakfast group actually had it last Friday morning.

My thinking is that if it comes down to having to pick one of these two guys I think that the positioning of Sullinger on offense determines the choice.

If Sullinger is going to be allowed to roam the perimeter to take five or six threes per game (even just 4 per game) then I would take Olynyk.  If, on the other hand, Sullinger is going to be restricted and be asked to play the way the traditional power forward was asked to play then I would keep Sullinger.

I fully believe that Sullinger can be a 20 points and 10 rebounds per game player if he spends all of his time working in and around the lane.   He already has some very good 'near-the-basket' skills that will easily allow him to reach the stats I mentioned.  

A 20 and 10 guy will make the all star team this year from the Celtics, and I do not think that Olynyk will achieve such lofty stats.  Sullinger can and will if he is told to stay off the perimeter because he will shoot well enough near the hoop to get 14 points off five post moves and two put backs even if he is not so called "tall enough", will get more rebounds, will draw more fouls and will shoot more free throws (6 makes and he gets his 20).

I voted undecided.

If this poll had come out when the season ended I would have chosen KO hands down.  However the recent photo of Sully along with very positive reports about how hard he has worked to get himself in shape gives me pause.

I very much agree with Wide Clyde regarding how Sully should be utilized and I agree 100% that if he is just roaming around the perimeter looking for his next 3 point opportunity than we should keep KO because KO is a better albeit reluctant 3 point shooter.  Sully shot .283% from behind the arc.  He is our best offensive rebounder and has the ability to score in the low post.

I think that once the boys finish training camp and play pre-season we will have a better idea about this.

dboss

Neither guy has truly been used to make the best use of His strengths while limiting said players weaknesses being exposed. As we are still in a transitional phase it's hard to say exactly what our final look and style will look like and how that will dictate our needs from our 4.

It does however seem that k.o. might best fit our look now... but I'd prefer if it's true there can only be one - then it will be the kid who wore the scarlet and Grey before he wore green.

I got a thing about celtics who were also buckeyes..