Might want to check it out....... Meyers Leonard will be a guest on Wheels at Work today at 3:15 PM on Fox Sports Radio 620 AM or online at foxsportsradio620.com. Sent from my baller ass iPad FAMS!
Hope somebody posts a summary. He's grown on me after watching him in Summer League. It occurs to me that his primary flaw (shitty defense) wouldn't be so glaring if we had a decent defensive starting center. He could come in off the bench, make a jumper, set a hard pick, get a dunk, make a nifty pass, get torched by everybody, and come out without too much damage being done. Playing behind Hickson, though, it was like substituting diesel for gasoline on the bonfire that was our interior defense.
One thing I will say about Leonard--there are a lot of young, tall, shitty centers that somehow just vanish on the court despite being over 6'10. You rarely say with Leonard, "Huh, I didn't even notice him out there." Sometimes it's for something awesome (dunks, nifty shot), sometimes it's for something pathetic (missed switch, missed easy rebound, getting abused in the post.) My wife, who only glances a couple times a night at the game, has said more than once, "Who's that white guy?" It's never Babbitt or Freeland.
I actually think he might turn out to be a decent stretch 4. He's got a good shot and, like Channing, he can work on expanding his range. He'll never be a "rim protector" but if we get a decent defensive center then he could be useful alongside him.
I disagree. He's still growing into his body and he loves to workout. I think when he adds more muscle and bulk he is going to love to bang down underneath. He just has that attitude. Last year was a huge learning year for him. Spacing and timing in the paint for a young big man is hard to learn. He's a 4 or 5 year project but one that I think will eventually pay off.
We'll see. He's already pretty buff - I don't think that's the problem. He's a bit top-heavy. Some players just have strong legs (Kevin Love, for example) and it gives them a huge advantage. The main problem is that he doesn't have any defensive instincts.
You could say the same about Aldridge, Hickson, Outlaw, Webster... Maybe one of the female cheerleaders will quit and a position will open up for Leonard to be noticed more. Olshey should consult your wife before the draft.
That's about right. Lie back and enjoy what will be done to you for the next 4-5 years. Then we'll feel lucky to trade him to Minny for a Babbitt.
Cool. We can draft Adams/Gobert and the (distant) future will be so bright we will have to wear night vision goggles.
For those saying he might transition into more of a PF...no chance. He has a hard time keeping centers from going around him if they face up and would get abused by 4's in the same situations. He has a really hard time changing directions quickly.
In that respect, it really doesn't matter what position he plays on defense; he sucks on defense. However, his offensive game is more like a 4/5 than a pure 5.
Leonard is no PF. I guess he can play it against some teams, but there are too many stretch 4's these days and he has no chance of guarding most of them on the perimeter. And why would we want him to? We have the Clavers of the world who can do that. We need at center. IMO offensively he fits in well with LMA similar to how we used Camby, but with a better shot. With time he can be a good passer as well.
I love what I've seen so far in the kid. On O, I think we can all agree that he should be good. On D, he is very active and more than athletic enough to do well, he has the tools. He just seems to completely go to the wrong spot and bite on an offensive players reuses. But he has not been a center for long, and he seems to put in the work. I suspect he will get incrementally better for a year or so, then things will come into focus for him, and he will make a leap. Meyers will end up a pretty good, perhaps occasional all-stat center, we just need to wait.
