Portland’s fanbase has strong opinions about Meyers Leonard, but the 2016-17 season could finally be the year they all turn positive.
It is hard to pinpoint the exact reason why Meyers Leonard elicits such strong opinions from Portland’s fans. Just check any post that we’ve had that focuses on the big man out of Illinois. You’ll find that people don’t hold back their criticism of his playing style, or you’ll find people who are overly protective – as if Leonard is their own child stepping up to the plate in little league. Regardless of what side of the fence you might be on, there is no hiding from the polarization he brings about in the Rip City community.
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Leonard’s draft position and the instant success of Damian Lillard lay the ground work for his harshest critics. Most of this is out Leonard’s control, as the last decade of Portland’s lottery picks paint a clear picture. The Trail Blazers have drafted seven players in the lottery since 2006, and four of the seven have found success fairly early on in their careers.
Brandon Roy and Lillard found immediate success, while LaMarcus Aldridge and C.J. McCollum took a slightly longer time to gain traction. All four were able to transition fairly smoothly to the rigors of NBA play (McCollum a little longer due to some forces out of his control), which paved the way for them to display their value fairly early on. This has not been the road that Leonard has walked after being drafted as raw player out of college.
The four players mentioned above kept the foundation of their game intact as they became professionals, but this isn’t the case for Leonard. The center position has drastically changed since the 2012 NBA Draft, which has forced many players out of their comfort zones. Leonard has swapped traditional post moves for outside shooting because of the new style of play in the league. When you consider that he only attempted twelve shots from three at Illinois – it would be wise to recalibrate your expectations. Suddenly the assumption of Leonard’s stagnate growth starts to look a bit foolish.
Last season was supposed to be the year that Leonard stepped out of his obscure role and transition into an impact player for the Trail Blazers. That plan didn’t necessarily work out, as his 2015-16 campaign was sandwiched between an early shooting slump and a season-ending shoulder injury.
It is easy for detractors to label last season’s performance as a failure for Leonard, but a closer look might paint a different picture. Even after losing his starting spot to Noah Vonleh, he didn’t bury his head in the sand and become a non-factor. Leonard found a way to stay relevant and quickly recovered from his early shooting woes.
Leonard began to live up to expectations around the mid-point of the regular season, which culminated in an impressive ten game streak that started in late February. In the five games during that stretch in which he played more than twenty minutes the Trail Blazers were 5-0. Leonard’s shooting numbers were just as impressive as the 5-0 mark, as he shot a solid 52.9% from the field (46.2% from three). Sadly that ten game stretch was the final ten contests that Leonard competed in before going down with a shoulder injury.
It appears that Leonard’s shoulder rehab is going as planned, which should set the table for him to pick up where he left off. If he can sustain those numbers it will go a long way in decreasing the credibility of his critics.
Even if everything goes right for Leonard there is no guarantee that it will endear him to Portland’s fans. As mentioned above, Leonard was quickly painted as a failure due to the early success of other former lottery picks made by the Trail Blazers. While the successes of Lillard and Roy highlight the standard to which most Rip City fans hold lottery picks to – Kevin Durant‘s success represents the other end of the spectrum.
There is still a deep-seated resentment for the failed Greg Oden experiment among Trail Blazers fans. Many people (myself included) kept their property on Oden-Can-Still-Make-It Island for just a little too long. The eventual collapse left many fans feeling betrayed and it is possible that some of them swore to themselves that they wouldn’t attach their hopes to a failing commodity (real or perceived) going forward. This could just be an over analysis of my own feelings toward the situation, but I have a feeling that I’m not alone.
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It is easy to label Leonard as a failed project with the recent wounds of the Oden fiasco, but it is the wrong way to view it. The expectations are vastly different and the future is very bright for the Trail Blazers. Leonard has shown he is committed to finding a role with the team, so it might be time to start taking a second look at the talented big man. Expect for his polarizing nature with fans to be a thing of the past if he picks up where he left off last season. Performing at a high level is his job, re-examining your own perception of Leonard is the other half of the equation.