Myers Lenard is Not a Project

[Stevenson]

He just sticks. It is really hard for me to see how, even in 3 years, he will be anything but a poor man's Joel Pryzbilla.

And that's not sayin' much.

 

[PapaG]

He just sticks.

I like sticks.

And "Myers" may or may not pan out.

ARGH!!!

 

[Pinwheel1]

He simply does not know how to play defense. So you teach him. How many coaches do they have? They need to earn their money this summer.

 

[ABM]

I like sticks.

Ann Myers may or may not pan out.

ARGH!!!

FIFY

 

[jlprk]

He simply does not know how to play defense. So you teach him. How many coaches do they have? They need to earn their money this summer.

Same goes for Hickson. Great attitude, teachable...why are we giving him away? I forgot.

 

[porkchopexpress]

Same goes for Hickson. Great attitude, teachable...why are we giving him away? I forgot.

Cause he's 6'9", doesn't want to play center (cause he isn't one) or back up LMA. Is that enough of a reason?

 

[maxiep]

Leonard has everything you want in a big man project. Size, athleticism, strength, shooting touch. He just needs seasoning. I think he's worth giving minutes to for 3-4 years.

 

[PapaG]

It's Myrs Lnrd. Get it right.

 

[jlprk]

Skynnr Skynhed if he can play the guitar.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

tonight was one of those times i understand why MM is always dissing him. Again tonight, he gets a rebound right under the basket; he is a 7 foot athletic guy; rather than go up and dunk the ball, he chooses to dribble out and gives up a turnover. Within a minute he puts up a layup so soft against Pau that I scream "Leonard, be a f___ing man!" I have said before that maybe if he gets hit in the chops enough he could become a man but later in the game seeing him close his eyes on another layup attempt against Kobe; I just don't know.
by the way , don't understand the reference to Pryzbilla; he is the anti-Pryzbilla.

 

[NOVoodoo]

How is he not a project? He only just turned 21, and he didn't even start playing in the post really until his junior year of high school, because of a crazy, unexpected growth spurt. Not to mention that he has freakish god given height, length, and athleticism. For someone with that kind of physical ability, that has only played his position for five years or so, I'd say you have a "project." It's one thing for guys who grew up being the "big guy," but it takes guys with crazy growth spurts like that some time.

 

[KingSpeed]

His name is spelled Meyers

 

[PapaG]

His name is spelled Meyers

Welcome to 2 hours ago.

And it's "Lnrd".

 

[theprunetang]

Leonard has everything you want in a big man project. Size, athleticism, strength, shooting touch. He just needs seasoning. I think he's worth giving minutes to for 3-4 years.

Exactly. He is still raw. Is he good at defense? no. But, he is young. He has some remarkable skills as a 7 footer. Give him time and he will be a legit starter for our team in 2 years. You can quote me on this, by the way. I will straight up say that he will be an allstar in 4 years. Make fun of me or think what you will. Just get back to me in the future. Get in you Dolorean right now!

 

[RoyToy]

I'm not a huge fan of Leonard going forward. He plays the game like a European style big man and that just does nothing for me. I don't care if he can make a 15ft jumper or how athletic he is if he can't defend or rebound.

In other news, one of my guys in the 2012 draft killed it last night. John Henson put up 17pts, 25rebs and 7 blks. When he's gotten minutes this season he has put up numbers.

 

[WillG]

I think mayhap a questioning glance should be fired towards the big man coaches?
The positioning on defense, particularly rebounding positioning, has been woeful (even keeping in mind they a lot of them are rookies)

 

[Mediocre Man]

Unless we can use him in a trade to upgrade the center spot, I'd like to see the Blazers focus on making him a back up stretch 4. He wouldn't get abused nearly as much as he does now

 

[Mediocre Man]

I think mayhap a questioning glance should be fired towards the big man coaches?
The positioning on defense, particularly rebounding positioning, has been woeful (even keeping in mind they a lot of them are rookies)

Meyers was a 6'5" SG in high school. That is the reason he is a piss poor interior defender. it has nothing to do with his desire, coaching, or seasoning. It isn't going to happen

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Leonard will never be the "poor man's Joel Przybilla" because, as someone correctly noted, he is the anti-Przybilla. Joel's specialities were bruising picks, tenacious rebounding and shotblocking, none of which is a strength of Leonard's. Leonard is (currently) much more like Byron Mullens - a "finesse" big man with a good shooting touch. Think of him as a giant small forward. Perhaps a better comparison would be Teletovic, the Euroleague star who is sitting on the bench for the Nets.

Right now it's clear he's not the player we need at C. The question is, can he learn how to play D? Sadly, I doubt it. D seems to be something like court vision (to which it is related, certainly team D) in that you either have it or you don't. There are some superstars who have learned it - Jordan, Bryant and Lebron, for example, none of whom were noted defenders early in their careers, but they're exceptional. There are also some players who've realized that the only way they're going to stick is by become defensive specialists, like Bruce Bowen and Tony Allen, but again, kind of exceptional. More usually, if you suck at D, you stay sucky. Look at JJ Hickson, who's basically lost 3 jobs despite being a PER hero, and ALL his coaches have preached to him is defense. He just doesn't have the head for it. I think you have to have a special kind of personality and it really seems to me that Leonard's is too mild. I actually saw him cower in fear away from a dunk attempt last night. I would happily include him as a throw-in for a less talented player like Omer Asik or Larry Sanders, who is all-D, little O.

 

[julius]

Well, I guess we should just give up on Meyers, because if he's not already fully developed after 1 season, he'll never be.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

I think mayhap a questioning glance should be fired towards the big man coaches?
The positioning on defense, particularly rebounding positioning, has been woeful (even keeping in mind they a lot of them are rookies)

That's hard to say; sometimes i think he has got too much coaching; that he is thinking out there too much, instead of reacting.

 

[UKRAINEFAN]

Oh, and I do think he has some special offensive talents, which you don't usually see in a young big. So i am in favor of keeping him and trying stuff to make him better on defense and a tougher guy.

 

[mook]

Leonard has one reliable skill--he's a high percentage scorer. And it's not just on dunks--he's got a pretty nice midrange and in shooting game.

For a 21 year old 7 foot rookie center project, that's plenty reason to hold on to him and try to develop him into a starting center over the next couple of years. Look around the league and ask yourself, "How many 7 foot 21 year olds have even one real reliable NBA-caliber skill?" It ain't a long list. Even with just that skill and being 7 feet tall, he'll at least be a journeyman backup center in this league for a decade.

He's a lot like the early years with Travis Outlaw. You see the potential and hope for the best, all the while realizing there's a reason why he was available in the draft as low as he was.

 

[mook]

Leonard will never be the "poor man's Joel Przybilla" because, as someone correctly noted, he is the anti-Przybilla. Joel's specialities were bruising picks, tenacious rebounding and shotblocking, none of which is a strength of Leonard's. Leonard is (currently) much more like Byron Mullens - a "finesse" big man with a good shooting touch. Think of him as a giant small forward. Perhaps a better comparison would be Teletovic, the Euroleague star who is sitting on the bench for the Nets.

Maybe. Sort of sounds like Dirk Nowitzki in his first season too. Here's how he looks next to other jump shooting big men in their rookie years (Smits, Brad Miller, Dirk, Divac).

None of these guys would go on to play that "enforcer" type role of rebounder/shot blocking center that we currently need. But they all had pretty damned productive NBA careers.

I don't know that Leonard is destined to be as good as any of those guys. But there's a reasonable chance at least.

That Leonard doesn't fill a role we desperately need next year doesn't really matter that much to me. You don't draft 20 year old center projects to fill a role in their second year. The nature of "projects" is that they take multiple years to develop, and who knows what kind of playing style he'll have (or the team will need) by the time he is ready for prime time. And if his talents don't align with our needs at that point, well, you trade him for something that does.

Just look at LMA. He didn't "fit" next to Zach Randolph, but he worked out just fine.

 

[Mediocre Man]

Maybe. Sort of sounds like Dirk Nowitzki in his first season too. Here's how he looks next to other jump shooting big men in their rookie years (Smits, Brad Miller, Dirk, Divac).

None of these guys would go on to play that "enforcer" type role of rebounder/shot blocking center that we currently need. But they all had pretty damned productive NBA careers.

I don't know that Leonard is destined to be as good as any of those guys. But there's a reasonable chance at least.

That Leonard doesn't fill a role we desperately need next year doesn't really matter that much to me. You don't draft 20 year old center projects to fill a role in their second year. The nature of "projects" is that they take multiple years to develop, and who knows what kind of playing style he'll have (or the team will need) by the time he is ready for prime time. And if his talents don't align with our needs at that point, well, you trade him for something that does.

Just look at LMA. He didn't "fit" next to Zach Randolph, but he worked out just fine.

We need a defensive center.

of the list you gave, Leonard ranks last in defensive rating, second to last in blocks per game (36), he draws fouls at a extremely lower rate than the others (FTA) as well as his one specific skill, which is offense he ranks last in scoring and second to last in rebounds. Both his second to last ficishes are ahead of Dirk, who is a PF

 

[blazerboy30]

Meyers was a 6'5" SG in high school. That is the reason he is a piss poor interior defender. it has nothing to do with his desire, coaching, or seasoning. It isn't going to happen

This doesn't even make sense. You claim he isn't a good interior defender BECAUSE he didn't play it in high school. But in the next sentence you claim it has nothing to do with seasoning.

At least make a small attempt at logic.

 

[MARIS61]

"I have vision, and the rest of the world wears bifocals."
Butch Cassidy

 

[HailBlazers]

Well, I guess we should just give up on Meyers, because if he's not already fully developed after 1 season, he'll never be.

Right, because the center position is so easy to learn.

http://www.blazersedge.com/2013/4/1...nard-posts-year-end-thoughts-on-nba-com-diary

Once the season ends for us, I'm going to stay here in Portland to work out for a bit. I'm going to Hawaii, probably Maui, for a vacation... If I don't work out just about every day, I don't feel good about myself or my career. Whether it's weights or just getting on the court, I will be doing something every day. My offseason will conclude with me heading to Vegas for summer league and from there I will report early to Portland to get extra work in before training camp and hopefully make a push for a starting spot next year.

He's got the attitude and the work ethic, I'd say his career looks promising.

 

[e_blazer]

Maybe it's just me, but a thread like this showing up after a game where Leonard is obviously overmatched going up against All-Stars in Howard and Gasol seems, well, a bit pathetic. Give me a single rookie center who wouldn't have looked like chopped liver against those two the way they were playing last night. Meyers has a lot to learn and some glaring weaknesses, but how about giving the kid at least one full season and a summer off-season to work on those deficiencies before declaring him a bust?

 

[BlazerWookee]

I liked his effort last night. He may not know what he's doing yet, but last night against Howard, he was trying really hard to do it. Dude's gotta be one big bruise from his thighs to his nipples, he was really banging on Dwight all game long. The will is there, the body is getting there, we just have to get his brain to catch up. This kid's gonna be pretty danged good, IMHO...