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

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Nards is working out with Embiid this off-season huh.
I wonder who gets injured first?
 
e_blazer said:
The weird thing about Meyers is that he has the tools he needs to be a solid NBA player. He's got a good NBA body in terms of size and strength. He's pretty athletic. He has a good shooting touch and decent hands. The problem seems to me to be that he has an incredibly slow basketball processor in his brain. Once he catches the ball, you can practically see the gears turning as he runs down the list of things he's supposed to consider and do. By the time he's decided, too often he's too late to make the play he needs to. He just has zero natural instinct, or perhaps he's just suppressed them and gone to this mechanical approach. I don't know if he can change that at this point in his development.
Click to expand...

Pretty much sums up my view. There really isn't much, physically, keeping him from being at least a decent player and worth being in the rotation.

It seems like he's had some injuries that affected his growth. Didn't he start this season with a sore right shoulder?

EDIT:
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/i...zers_meyers_leonard_undergoes_surgery_on.html

Shoulder surgery, out 6-8 months starting April. 6 months is September at the minimum. Plus those 6-8 months were lost development time.
 
I have a Meyers theory that he has a need for an alpha male ...lost his dad, lost Kim Hughes, lost Wes and lost Chris Kaman......he said in his interview here that he was Wes' rookie...what should I do Wes? This is his biggest issue...he needs to be his own trainer if he really wants to grow into a confident athlete...feel sort of like he's looking for someone to fix his glitch when he should be looking to himself to do that...Swanigan doesn't need that....self starter from what I've seen...when asked about his mentor in college Swanigan said....we're done now, I have to start over and earn everything again..I appreciate what he did for me but it's my job to keep working now and earning my place....I'm a fan of Biggie!!!
 
Bear with me here.... Meyers is by all acount's a pretty dang good athletes for a guy who measures out at 7'1". Yeah there have been centers that jump higher but not many that height, same for agility and sprint speeds. He's also got a very muscular frame, again unlike most guys his size who are just lanky or even pudgy. He has very good hands, he shoots extremely well by any standard, he passes extremely well for a big man, rebounds at a good clip (patience I'm getting there), plays good on ball "post" defense.... He has every single tool you could hope for in a center except maybe shot blocking. But let's look at his career per 36 and shooting.

1st: 11.3pts, 7.6reb, 1ast .545fg, .429-3pt (7 attempts) Drtg 110
2nd: 9.9pts, 11.3 reb, 1.8ast, .451fg, .000-3p (6 attempts) Drtg 105
3rd: 13.9pts, 10.8reb 1.4ast, .510fg, .420-3pt (112 attempts) Drtg 102

Now lets stop right there. Those 3 seasons Meyers played Center. Lamarcus left after this season and Meyers was moved to PF.

4th: 13.8pts, 8.5reb, 2.5ast, .448fg, .377-3pt (228 attempts) Drtg 109
5th: 11.8pts, 7.0reb, 2.1ast, .386fg, .347-3pt (213 attempts) Drtg 112

Looking at his splits he plays a little better coming off the bench, but not significantly. Looking at 82 games, Meyers plays very good defense as a Center, but gets completely owned at PF.
 
riverman said:
I have a Meyers theory that he has a need for an alpha male ...lost his dad, lost Kim Hughes, lost Wes and lost Chris Kaman......he said in his interview here that he was Wes' rookie...what should I do Wes? This is his biggest issue...he needs to be his own trainer if he really wants to grow into a confident athlete...feel sort of like he's looking for someone to fix his glitch when he should be looking to himself to do that...Swanigan doesn't need that....self starter from what I've seen...when asked about his mentor in college Swanigan said....we're done now, I have to start over and earn everything again..I appreciate what he did for me but it's my job to keep working now and earning my place....I'm a fan of Biggie!!!
Click to expand...
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.
 
Schilly said:
Bear with me here.... Meyers is by all acount's a pretty dang good athletes for a guy who measures out at 7'1". Yeah there have been centers that jump higher but not many that height, same for agility and sprint speeds. He's also got a very muscular frame, again unlike most guys his size who are just lanky or even pudgy. He has very good hands, he shoots extremely well by any standard, he passes extremely well for a big man, rebounds at a good clip (patience I'm getting there), plays good on ball "post" defense.... He has every single tool you could hope for in a center except maybe shot blocking. But let's look at his career per 36 and shooting.

1st: 11.3pts, 7.6reb, 1ast .545fg, .429-3pt (7 attempts) Drtg 110
2nd: 9.9pts, 11.3 reb, 1.8ast, .451fg, .000-3p (6 attempts) Drtg 105
3rd: 13.9pts, 10.8reb 1.4ast, .510fg, .420-3pt (112 attempts) Drtg 102

Now lets stop right there. Those 3 seasons Meyers played Center. Lamarcus left after this season and Meyers was moved to PF.

4th: 13.8pts, 8.5reb, 2.5ast, .448fg, .377-3pt (228 attempts) Drtg 109
5th: 11.8pts, 7.0reb, 2.1ast, .386fg, .347-3pt (213 attempts) Drtg 112

Looking at his splits he plays a little better coming off the bench, but not significantly. Looking at 82 games, Meyers plays very good defense as a Center, but gets completely owned at PF.
Click to expand...
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.
 
BBert said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
Schilly said:
Bear with me here.... Meyers is by all acount's a pretty dang good athletes for a guy who measures out at 7'1". Yeah there have been centers that jump higher but not many that height, same for agility and sprint speeds. He's also got a very muscular frame, again unlike most guys his size who are just lanky or even pudgy. He has very good hands, he shoots extremely well by any standard, he passes extremely well for a big man, rebounds at a good clip (patience I'm getting there), plays good on ball "post" defense.... He has every single tool you could hope for in a center except maybe shot blocking. But let's look at his career per 36 and shooting.

1st: 11.3pts, 7.6reb, 1ast .545fg, .429-3pt (7 attempts) Drtg 110
2nd: 9.9pts, 11.3 reb, 1.8ast, .451fg, .000-3p (6 attempts) Drtg 105
3rd: 13.9pts, 10.8reb 1.4ast, .510fg, .420-3pt (112 attempts) Drtg 102

Now lets stop right there. Those 3 seasons Meyers played Center. Lamarcus left after this season and Meyers was moved to PF.

4th: 13.8pts, 8.5reb, 2.5ast, .448fg, .377-3pt (228 attempts) Drtg 109
5th: 11.8pts, 7.0reb, 2.1ast, .386fg, .347-3pt (213 attempts) Drtg 112

Looking at his splits he plays a little better coming off the bench, but not significantly. Looking at 82 games, Meyers plays very good defense as a Center, but gets completely owned at PF.
Click to expand...

Yes. Leonard has been a C all his basketball life (the part that matters) until being moved to PF here. I'd like to see him play C for good.

I always felt he might have Mehmet Okur upside.

upload_2017-7-10_10-32-58.png
 
BBert said:
I doubt Caleb is the man he is today without his mentor and his continued involvement in his life.
Click to expand...
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
 
bodyman5000 and 1 said:
He may be the most disappointing Blazer in the last 30 years.
Click to expand...

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
 
BBert said:
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.
Click to expand...

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 . . .

mmybLw.gif
 
Binx said:
Let's get real. No NBA player takes a leap from horrible to good after 5 years in the league.
Click to expand...
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
Boob-No-More said:
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
Click to expand...
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
 
blue9 said:
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?
Click to expand...

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.
 
blue9 said:
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?
Click to expand...

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
 
Boob-No-More said:
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
Click to expand...
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...
 
blue9 said:
Didn't Billups have a pretty shitty start to his career before becoming a champion?
Click to expand...

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
 
blue9 said:
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...
Click to expand...

DeMarre Carroll in ATL, perhaps?

Other notable late bloomers:

Ben Wallace
Bruce Bowen
John Starks
J.J. Reddick
Kyle Lowry
Raja Bell
BNM
 
I'm still wondering why we're referring to him by his given name.... :dunno:

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