MEYERS LEONARD: NEW TRAINER, NEW SHOT, NEW OUTLOOK AS HE VOWS TO IMPROVE

I agree about Meyers maybe needing help from a strong role model, especially to help keep his head on straight. But didn't Swanigan have an ex NFL linebacker to get him on a better path, and instill a work ethic, from childhood to the present? On draft night I saw the guy get interviewed about Caleb and he seemed pretty involved to me, going so far as talking about what Caleb was going to do next and how he was going to train for the season. I doubt Caleb is the man he is today without his mentor and his continued involvement in his life.

 

Meyers who? I know it's not Meyers Leonard. Meyers Leonard is the worst basketball player in the history of planet earth. Or so I've been told. Ad nauseam.

 

He may be the most disappointing Blazer in the last 30 years. I don't remember anyone saying he's an asshole.

Maybe I'm just jealous that I played like Sabonis but was built like a lineman and Meyers could be awesome. Fuck maybe, I'm jealous. It makes it worse how bad he's been and how much money he gets.

 

I agree....Meyers had his brother for that growing up...my point is, one seems to have grown up faster ....I wish both these kids well..in Meyers case...time to man up....Caleb manned up in college. Difference personality wise between a Nolan Smith type guy and a CJ McCollum....one picks his nose for the camera..the other interviews Adam Silver...Caleb was extremely lucky to have had a mentor like he had with basketball knowledge....that guy is a bona fide hero in my book

 

You're either exaggerating or had some extremely unrealistic expectations. Did you really think, when we took Meyers Leonard with the 11th pick in the 2012 draft he was going to lead us to multiple championships?

Because just five years earlier we took a guy named Greg Oden with the first pick in the draft and, at the time, the question wasn't would we win a championship, it was how many.

More disappointing than passing on Chris Paul to take Martell Webster?

More disappointing than the first lottery pick in franchise history, Sebastian Telfair in 2004. He was supposed to be what Lillard is - and the reason we traded back to take Martell instead of CP3.

And those are just three of the players we have drafted in the last 13 years. I'm sure if I went back another 17 years I could find more, especially if I include guys we signed as free agents or acquired via trade (Shawn Kemp anyone? Darius Miles?).

When Meyers Leonard was drafted, the consensus was he was a project that needed 3 - 4 years to develop. No one was (realistically) pinning our future championship hopes on him. At this point, he is a failed project, and that is disappointing, but to me far less disappointing than the others I mentioned because the expectations, at least for me, were so much less.

And, it's not like we passed on Kevin Durant or Chris Paul to take Meyers. At the time, some people were pissed that we didn't take Jeremy Lamb, John Henson or even Kendall Marshall at 11. Exactly what have those guys accomplished? If you look at the rest of the 1st round in 2012 - not a single all star selected between the 6th (Lillard) and 30th (Ezeli) picks. Was Meyers, in hindsight, a good pick. Unfortunately, no. Was picking him at 11 an unmitigated disaster that set the franchise back by years. Fortunately, also no.

Given realistic expectations, Meyers has indeed been disappointing, but nowhere near the most disappointing in the last 30 years.

BNM

 

That would be Roosevelt Barnes - a 3-sport star at Purdue. I'm a Purdue grad and remember him from his days at Purdue. He didn't just mentor Caleb Swanigan, he adopted him. He is his legal (and more importantly, his actual) father.

BNM

 

This fucking story . . .

 

I don't think this is true. I don't care to look shit up to disprove it, but I seem to recall that Pryzbilla sucked and then after several years became serviceable. Didn't Billups have a pretty shitty start to his career before becoming a champion? These are the first two that popped to mind. Who was that guy who was in D-League/Euro for years, and finally got a 2nd shot around the time he was 28 and played a big role in some team's Playoff run a few years ago?

 

It's like we have

Oden.... hurt, taking that into account. Yes, his busting is an epic disappointment.
Sebastian Telfair....meh.
Shawn Kemp was a huge disappointment.
Jermaine being good was a disappointment.
Brandon losing his knees was a disappointment.
Rasheed being awesome but not as good as he could be was a disappointment.
I wasn't counting draft position or players we could have drafted.

Meyers you can see that in another universe he could be special. Just making baby steps each year he should have been a valuable player.

Maybe I should have said most frustrating player since I've been watching. I'm also taking into account his public statements about shooting threes and his ridiculous PR video and he just makes me cringe. The organization isn't helping. I don't know why they want him to be Dirk but once again... HE'LL NEVER BE DIRK!!!!!!

Ugggh

 

Gerald Green immediately pop'd into my head as a player who didn't earn a second contract after being drafted. Went overseas only to return to the NBA to be a solid role player.

 

Are you thinking of Mario Elie? Drafted in the 7th round (yes, there was such a thing back then) and didn't make his NBA debut until he was 27. Ended up being a key bench player on 3 championship teams; 2 in HOU and 1 in SAS. I believe he is still on the Spurs coaching staff along with another late bloomer with Portland Ties - Ime Udoka.

BNM

 

No - someone much more recent...just a few years ago. It may have been Whiteside I was thinking of, but I thought there was another, less high-profile player. Either way, good info and further evidence that the statement i quoted isn't true. Not that I think Meyers will be another data point to disprove it...

 

Was drafted 3rd overall. Struggled to find a a role on 5 teams in 6 years until he finally became a starter in DET at the age of 26.

BNM

 

People worry way too much about Meyers. I stopped caring years ago. I have zero expectations for him.

 

DeMarre Carroll in ATL, perhaps?

Other notable late bloomers:

Ben Wallace
Bruce Bowen
John Starks
J.J. Reddick
Kyle Lowry
Raja Bell
BNM

 

Does Harrison Barnes count?

 

Does Jermaine O'Neal?

BNM

 

People....

Quit giving him excuses....

 

I'm still wondering why we're referring to him by his given name....

I remember using his middle name (like a scolding parent) every time he shot a 3 in his 2nd (or 3rd) season.