Basketball intervention, John Lucas help Celtics' Sullinger see error of his ways
The main thing holding Boston Celtics big man Jared Sullinger back from establishing himself as the NBA's next great power forward seems to be Sullinger himself.
Issues with his weight and work ethic tarnished the first three seasons of the 23-year-old's tenure in Beantown.
Family, friends, and his agent held a "basketball intervention" for Sullinger in May to open his eyes to the path he was going down, according to ESPN's Chris Forsberg. Also in attendance was former No. 1 overall pick John Lucas, who battled his share of demons throughout his playing career, involving both drugs and alcohol.
"(Lucas) said I have all the talent in the world, but, 'You forgot what working hard is,'" Sullinger said. "And you know, for somebody to come from Houston all the way to Columbus, Ohio - to stop whatever he was doing - meant he was there for me. That's what made me go work out with John."
Lucas - who now works with young athletes across the country - became a mentor of sorts to Sullinger, getting him to abide by a strict workout and diet regimen.
While noticeably leaner, Sullinger won't reveal exactly how much weight he's lost. "I can't really tell you all those good things," Sullinger said. "You might not get a story from me for that one. But it was a good amount."
"As far as me being where I want to be, I'm not there yet, but I'm closer than you will imagine ... This is probably the best I've ever felt, emotionally and physically, going into the season."
Boston has the option to sign Sullinger to an extension through the end of October, although it's far more likely team officials will wait until the end of the 2015-16 season to judge his progress. He'll have even more competition vying for minutes in the frontcourt following the offseason acquisitions of both Amir Johnson and David Lee, making his road to redemption a tad more challenging.
In 58 games last season, Sullinger averaged 13.3 points and 7.6 rebounds with a PER of 17.9. He also shot 43.9 percent from the field and 28.3 percent from behind the arc.