Should the Bucks bring back Meyers Leonard?
Center Meyers Leonard has been around quite a bit this offseason, establishing some face time in the Milwaukee community. With so much roster upheaval right now for the Bucks, should Milwaukee bring back Leonard? Let’s look a little deeper at the value Leonard brings and what, again, got him in all this trouble in the first place.
Leonard’s Career with the Bucks
Leonard played in nine games for the Bucks, starting in two. He averaged 4.8 points a game. He did rebound the basketball well, averaging 3.8 boards in 12 minutes of playing time. His 7’1” frame served him well when he played, helping clog the lane and protect the rim. Interestingly enough, he has always been known to do the opposite of that and in Miami, tended to function more around the perimeter. With Milwaukee he shot close to 39% from three. He did the same for the Heat.
He also did have a respectable field goal percentage (48.3%).
Leonard played twice in the playoffs, logging 5 minutes.
In this smaller sample size, does that prove it is worth keeping Leonard?
Related: Bucks Roster Updates
Potential Reigns Supreme in the NBA
Maybe the better question to ask is, “with more playing time, would Leonard be able to provide serviceable minutes for Milwaukee?” The answer to that question appears to be “yes”. Given the time, it does seem like Leonard could have a 20/10/3 performance. And at 7’1”, that is valuable to a lot of teams.
For Leonard the question probably isn’t the “big game”. It might have more to do with the mid-January back-to-back when the team needs twenty five minutes in the paint. Can Leonard deliver? Based-off his small sample size and larger sample size in Miami it appears he can.
In Miami when Leonard played he had some serviceable numbers in a 48% field goal shooting percentage and in 16 minutes per game, averaged 5 points, a rebound and an assist, Leonard is also a pretty strong three point shooter with a career average of 39%. All of those Miami numbers are consistent with what was on display in Milwaukee. So why not just sign the guy?
It stands to reason that his production will stay consistent. He should be able to shoot around 39% from three and 48% from the field. That is pretty decent in NBA terms.
So what is the hold up? Why not just get to the finish line and sign the guy?
What was said
Leonard used an anti-Semitic slur while playing a video game that was being live streamed. So, “explain that to me like I am five and don’t play videos”. Basically, a live-stream game is when you are playing with others and recording the game you are playing so others can watch or you can watch later. They are surprisingly popular events and Leonard was playing a popular game “Call of Duty”.
Here is a quote from him taken from ESPN’s “Outside the Lines”
“There are absolutely no excuses for what happened that day, and ignorance, sadly, is a very real thing. I am not running from this, but I did not know that it happened. I felt like I had just destroyed my life and everything that I worked for, to be honest… People had every right to, I suppose, make assumptions about me. People were going to have to, in the media, comment on this. And I understand, I do.”
The former 11th overall pick of the Portland Trail Blazers has also, at times, struggled in his career with ankle and shoulder issues. He sometimes needs to miss time.
Final Verdict:
Bring him back on a “club-friendly” deal.
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