Getty Images Evan Turner #11, Isaiah Thomas #4, Jared Sullinger #7 and Jae Crowder #99 of the Boston Celtics celebrate after defeating the Miami Heat at TD Garden on April 13, 2016
Boston Celtics radio color commentator and 1981 NBA Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell doesn’t hate the Celtics’ latest signing but had been hoping — which he admitted in the latest episode of the Cedric Maxwell Podcast — the Celtics would bring back a familiar face instead of signing forward Jabari Parker.
Parker, who inked a two-year deal with the Celtics, last Friday, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, made his debut with the club over the weekend. Parker fared well in a 119-114 win over the Golden State Warriors.
He finished with 11 points and 4 rebounds in 16 minutes.
Cedric Maxwell: ‘Danny Could Have Gone Out And Done Even Better With Maybe Jared Sullinger’
Maxwell, who got into the reasons why he likes the newest member of the Celtics, explained why he’s a good pickup for Boston.
“I think that he can score the basketball, still, and I think that’s good,” Maxwell said about Parker in the latest episode of the Cedric Maxwell Podcast. “3-point-wise, maybe not the most deadly 3-point shooter. Guarding people, I think he could do a good job out there. But, as much as I like this signing, I think Danny (Ainge) could have gone out and done even better with maybe, Jared Sullinger.”
“Cornbread” went on to explain why he’d prefer to see Sullinger back in Boston.
“(He’s) a big-time rebounder, a sense of toughness that the Celtics, I think, could use because he had that attitude, and didn’t have any friends,” Maxwell said. “I like that about him. He went back and I had a chance to do a podcast with him and we looked at it, he sent me a video of himself, and his dad was imploring for teams to take a look at him.”
Is Jared Sullinger Making An NBA Comeback?
Back in January, Max shared a recent video of Sullinger working out, via Twitter. In the brief video, a slimmed-down Jared appears in an open gym before making a spin move, in the paint, towards the hoop for an easy dunk.
Great to see this young man looking so well. Excited to see him back on an #nba court soon.
One week later, Jared was a guest on the Cedric Maxwell Podcast, where he talked about the lessons he’s learned from his time in the NBA. In contrast to where his basketball career has landed him today — in China — Max hopes to see Sullinger back in the states, one day.
“The Celtics could have done, maybe, even better and this is just me, in (signing) Sullinger, Maxwell added. “I think Parker, you don’t lose with him, but I would love to have a little bit more attitude from the bench.”
Jared Sullinger Leads The KBL In Scoring & Rebounding
Maxwell’s Celtics radio broadcast partner play-by-play announcer, Sean Grande, took the conversation one step further, Sunday afternoon.
While retweeting Max’s episode latest, Grande added that the conversation over a potential Sullinger comeback is something that was discussed on air and that Cedric feels very strongly about it.
Grande also added that Sullinger is currently leading the Korean league in scoring and rebounding. A few weeks back, while playing for Anyang KGC in South Korea, the former Ohio State Buckeye did make headlines for tallying 41 points and 18 rebounds in a single game.
TBT provided the highlights from that game, via Twitter.
Jared Sullinger (@Jared_Sully0) last night in South Korea:
41 pts | 18 reb 🔥🔥🔥
Averaging 26.7 points and 11.4 rebounds, Sullinger leads the league in both scoring and rebounding this season, per Asia-basket.com.
READ NEXT: