Former lottery bust Michael Sweetney cites undiagnosed depression for struggles
Michael Sweetney was drafted ninth overall out of Georgetown in 2003, and his career started going downhill almost immediately after.
His tenure with his draft team - the New York Knicks - was short-lived and plagued by conditioning issues. Two years into his career, he was flipped to the Chicago Bulls in a massive trade that included Eddy Curry, Tim Thomas, Antonio Davis, and picks that would become LaMarcus Aldridge, Joakim Noah, and Wilson Chandler.
Two seasons after that, Sweetney was out of the NBA entirely.
It's easy to point the finger at players when they don't work out as top picks, especially when weight issues plague them, but it's difficult for observers to really know what goes on in a player's development.
In Sweetney's case, his struggles - particularly his weight gain - occurred in large part due to an undiagnosed battle with clinical depression, he told Marc Berman of The New York Post this week:
I don't think I was honest back then, but I'm now open to be able to say everything that happened was my fault and I own up to it. I was in a bad depression, didn't eat right or work out enough and I ate myself out of the league. I've just owned up recently to the problems of depression. I think I was in depression mode for years and I didn't get proper help. I was in denial.
Since he left the NBA, Sweetney has played in China, the D-League, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Uruguay, and Venezuela, but he hasn't played professionally in over a year.
The 32-year-old is working his way back to ball now, getting professional help dealing with depression, and thinking about coaching if a pro return doesn't work out. He's playing in the winner-take-all event, The Basketball Tournament, and even if it's not a launching pad for more pro seasons, Sweetney's enjoying himself.
"I'm doing it for my health," Sweteney, who is still 320 pounds, said. "This is the most fun I've had playing basketball in a long time and it's going to feel great to go back to New York."
His squad, Team City of Gods, is 5-0 in the tournament and has moved on to the tournament semi-finals on Saturday, and Sweteney is averaging four points and six rebounds in 8.6 minutes. In 233 career NBA games, Sweetney averaged 6.5 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 48.5 percent from the floor.