Leonard is soft, soft, soft . . . Let's hope he learns how to play with toughness and intensity. Otherwise, there is no hope for him.
The person who I thought was much closer to a poor man's Joel was our current Joel, Freeland. But with Hickson out he STILL doesn't get a sniff of PT. What gives? He at least seems to have SOME semblance of defensive instincts and is prepared to give a hard foul or two.
Meyers Leonard will be awesome. I see it. Next year you will see it, and two years from now the world will start to see it. Leonard will be a top 10 center in the NBA by year 5 in the NBA.
On the assumption that Leonard will remain a weak defender, and you were told that the Blazers will get one of the following college players (who all fall between 10 and 21 on the current DraftExpress Mock - which tells you the depth at C in this draft) to try to shore up our defense (which is why I have omitted Olynyk, who is projected at 14), which one would you want? Rudy Gobert Alex Len Mason Plumlee Isaiah Austin Gorgui Deng Steven Adams Jeff Withey ? My preference is probably Dieng, who I think is smart and can be the new Larry Sanders. He's older, but so was Taj Gibson when the Bulls took him. I'm intrigued by Withey, but his rebound rate is rather anemic, even if his block rate is outstanding. Hell, let's use PAM to buy some picks and take a bunch of 'em!
I went to the Cavs/Pacers game here on Tuesday cuz I wanted to see Kyrie play live, but i came away completely astonished at how good Tyler Zeller is. Kid destroyed Hibbert. He's so much better than Meyers.
He is very refined, high BBIQ and has great instincts. Pretty much the opposite of Meyers. However, we knowingly picked Leonard as a project, one with higher ceiling potential.
If Leonard was the best pick at #11 in a deep draft, what could the Blazers hope for at 12 in a weak draft?
To be fair: different drafts are deep at different positions. Remember the Rubio/Curry/Lawson/Holiday draft? That also had Jeff Teague, Tyreke Evans, Maynor and Darren Collison? Great for PGs. But the C who went at #2 was Hasheem Thabeet. Meanwhile this draft seems DEEP in centers. Here's another guy who intrigues me (but may not declare): Chris Obekpa. Sounds very Ibaka-esque.
This is a really good discussion topic: now that we're a season in, who should we have taken at 11? I'm not really tracking the other rookies, so I'm genuinely curious.
We should have taken Meyers Leonard. It's not his fault that Damien hit super-stud status right out of the gate instead of in a year or two as expected...
BPA was probably Henson. BCA (Best Center Available) was probably Festus Ezeli, at least if we're talking defense.
In the "your guys" thread, I selected 3 players that interested me, specifically because, although I have faith that one day Meyers will rule the world, that getting a defensive minded Center will be the best way to use our pick this draft. The three guys I selected were Gobert, Deng and Withey. Gobert I have only seen bits of, and his numbers have not been great, but people who I respect say that he has a high ceiling, and with a 7'9" wingspan, could be the defender we are looking for. He does not block many shots, but from what I gather he does play a mean swarming man to man D against other Centers. Not a bad option to grab and grow with, Deng I like the most all around, but he is at least 23, and there are rumors that he may be a couple years older than that. But he is a mensch on Defense and has the size and ability to be a specialist in the NBA. Withey confuses me. He is so amazing at blocks, but has huge holes elsewhere. I really don't know how to fully evaluate him, but once again, we are talking about size, length and athletic ability to be good at the next level. I'm open to some of the other players, but I would like to lean towards a defensive Center, there are certainly enough options to choose from.
I just don't get this thread. The kid just turned 21. We all knew he as raw and would take YEARS (notice the plural) to develop. If anything, he's ahead of my expectations - and I'm one of those who liked this pick. Yes, he still needs to improve his defense (wow, big surprise). Some have claimed he doesn't have good instincts. Yes, he does look lost a lot on defense, but I'm not convinced that's a lack of instinct as much as it is a lack of experience. Perhaps it is lack of instinct, time will tell. If it is, it may prevent him from becoming an elite all-NBA defender who leads the league in blocked shots. I agree that you can't teach instinct. But there are a LOT of things that can be taught. Given Leonard's size and athleticism, if he can just learn proper defensive positioning and rotation - and those things can be coached - he can become an above average post defender. There's a lot more to defense than blocking shots. JaVale McGee is a great shot blocker, but a HORRIBLE defender. His instinct is to try to block EVERY shot. Every time anyone penetrates, McGee goes for the block, even if he has no chance. As a result, he constantly leaves his man wide open under the basket and is out of position for defensive rebounds. It seems like instincts, of the bad variety, also can't be untaught. Meyers may lack the instincts to become an elite level defender, but at least he doesn't have a lot of bad habits that would be hard to overcome. The kid is a blank canvas, a raw lump of clay. He's a hard worker and seems to have good attitude. He has a very rare combination of size and athleticism. He's already hitting the weights hard and as his body fills out he will become bigger and stronger. That will help him take up space and hold his position in the paint. He doesn't have to block a lot of shots to be a good post defender. If he can hold his position and keep his opponent from establishing deep post position, that will go a long way to improving the Blazers interior defense. This thread is stupid. Meyers Leonard is THE definition of a project. We knew it when we drafted him and nothing has changed. Giving up on him after one season of very limited action is also stupid. He has already shown he has the skill set to be an above average offensive center, and he has the size and work ethic to become a solid, if unspectacular post defender. If he doesn't show any improvement, please feel free to bump this thread, or start another one, in 2 - 3 years when he's an over-the-hill 23 or 24 years old. BNM
Don't know if I agree with all that, but I like your point about Meyers being the definition of a project. That is so ture which makes the title of this thread kind of funny. Part I have a little problem with is a project means he may or may not develop into a quality NBA player, you kind of make it sound like a done deal. But agree with everything else.
