Zeller, Sullinger say they won’t let lack of extensions with Celtics deter them
Jared Sullinger and Tyler Zeller will not receive contract extensions from the Celtics this year, as the deadline for such deals passed on Monday night.
Neither player was deterred by the development while speaking Tuesday morning at the team’s practice facility in Waltham.
When asked if he was surprised by the lack of a deal, Sullinger responded, “Not really. It’s part of the business. And my main objective is to focus on this basketball team, and try to make us better. That’s just the main focus going into this year. It’s not really about extensions.’’
“We had talked about it,’’ Zeller said of his agent’s talks with the Celtics. “We had some phone calls back and forth. [Negotiations] just kind of fizzled out, so you now have a full year and [we’ll] just see what happens next summer.’’
Sullinger acknowledged that a deal between him and Boston was never close, but Zeller inferred he had some hope about an extension before talks broke down.
“It was really between my agent and Danny [Ainge],’’ he said. “It was one of those things I let them handle. My agent called me and said ‘it never really came anywhere to where we could get a deal done.’ It is what it is. Now we have a season to focus on and go out and play basketball now.’’
The window for former first-round extensions to re-up with their team during the final year of their rookie contract officially ends during the first week of the regular season.
Seven players reached extensions with their teams in the last few months before that deadline, including big names such as Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist. The remainder of the non-extended former first-round crop will head into the open market next summer as restricted free agents, as long as they are given a qualifying offer by their respective teams.
With a rising salary cap on the horizon thanks to the NBA’s big new TV deal, Zeller and Sullinger opted to bet on earning a hefty payday next summer, rather than the security of a long-term deal.
“Obviously with the TV deal and everything,’’ Zeller explained, “There’s always a lot of money around the league so it’s kind of beneficial for me if I can make it through the year. Obviously, knock on wood, hopefully I’m healthy and everything, but you kind of have to see what you can do this year and see where we are at next summer.’’
With the distraction of negotiations behind them, both big men will have plenty to play for and prove in a crowded Celtics frontcourt in the coming weeks.
“It is what it is,’’ Sullinger said. “I’m happy for the guys that got their contracts. But like I said, tomorrow we’re going to focus on Indiana and try to get a win.’’
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