Former Portland Trail Blazer two – Meyers Leonard
Meyers Leonard just finished the last year of a four-year deal with the Miami Heat. Leonard was traded by the Blazers for Hassan Whiteside in the 2018/19 season after being originally signed to this four-year deal in the 2015/16 spending spree.
Leonard copped criticism for his lack of production on this deal, but he could add value with his shooting ability and size on a lesser deal.
Leonard is a legitimate seven-footer who has a career three-point shooting rate of 39 percent.
Though he fell out of the rotation for the Heat this year, I’m confident that as a back up he could perform a role as a stretch five or maybe even a break glass option at the four.
He can’t protect the rim, so he needs to play with a defensive option, but in the regular season, when you need production and minutes, he can pot away from three in the corner and rebound on the defensive end. As a defensive rebounder, he has finished in the top 30 percent of the league on five occasions.
Though Leonard wasn’t the most popular player in town because of his inflated deal and lack of on-court success, he is a great locker room guy, and in a third/fourth backup big role, he could succeed.
The Heat do have his bird rights, but I can’t see them going over the cap to bring him back.
As a minimum player, he could fit as a backup big who could play minutes in Terry Stotts conservative drop coverage system.
All three of these options could potentially play a role if they were signed on value deals in the 2020 free agency period. Their familiarity with the systems and personnel could be a big advantage as the Blazers look to take this squad further than the first round in 2021.