He was included in a trade that will end up being more notorious than Jermaine O'Neal for Dale Davis.
Leonard. He's the most maligned, and it would be huge for us if he could develop into a good NBA center.
Leonard. You look at that body and that size and all those muscles and figure you have a great potential center. Then you see he has a few pretty nice offensive weapons and the deal seems sweeter. But he's kind of a nerdy guy who doesn't seem to have a single real basketball instinct in his body. As a fellow nerdy guy who doesn't seem to have a single real basketball instinct in his body, and the father of two young nerdy guys who don't seem to have a single real basketball instinct in their bodies, I have to believe Leonard can improve. If he can't there's no hope for the rest of us.
I know you said "not the starters"; but I think Lopez will be a very important piece. He needs to stay healthy and protect the paint. If we get that, then we are in good shape. If we are talking bench; I'm a fan of forwards. Either wright (hopefully being like a Walt Williams type) and T.Rob (because he has the most potential to be a strong presence off the bench).
Of course, I want everyone on our bench to break out. I'd love to see Meyers Leonard succeed to silence all the haters. I'd love to see Thomas Robinson make Sacramento and Houston regret giving up on him too soon. I'd love to see Will Barton's brain catch up with his body. But, I think I'm going to go with Joel Freeland as my Cult Hero (as it's defined in this thread) this season. Freeland was absolutely horrible for the first month of the season last year. He only made 2 of his first 16 shots and seemed absolutely lost on the court. He made steady, but unspectacular progress throughout the season. He seems to have embraced the Nick Collison mind set and is concentrating on doing the hard work that could make him a valuable role player. He's playing tough defense in the preseason, setting picks, etc. I know it's preseason, but he doesn't look nearly as lost as he did last year. Let's face it, we need at least one of our bench big men to step it up if we are going to make the playoffs. Most people think it will be TRob, and I certainly hope he does, but wouldn't be great f we had at lest two solid bigs off the bench that play defense, rebound and set good picks? BNM
I want CJ to come back and be our new human victory cigar. We need "CJ McMuffin" to replace "Cha-Luke-a".
Patty Mills - just for his personality and enthusiasm. Wish we still had him, he's a good glue guy - good for team chemistry.
Seeing as how my cult hero was Batum, and he has graduated into true hero status, my new cult hero must now be... The Man The Myth The Legend
Barton's potential to be a disruptive defender and instant offense type of player elevates him to 'cult' status in my book.
Honestly, and probably surprisingly, mine is Leonar_ If he does well, this franchise takes a giant step.
Stacey Augmon? He was a big letdown for us. And he never learned to shoot. I'd be happy to have Will be pre-injury Rudy.