Fansided

NBA free agency: Meyers Leonard re-ups with Portland Trail Blazers

By John Buhler

Jan 21, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts and center Meyers Leonard (11) against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Suns defeated the Blazers 118-113. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 21, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts and center Meyers Leonard (11) against the Phoenix Suns at US Airways Center. The Suns defeated the Blazers 118-113. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

After four so-so years with the Portland Trail Blazers, the organization feels comfortable giving big man Meyers Leonard a four-year contract extension.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical of Yahoo! Sports, Meyers Leonard has agreed to a four-year, $41 million deal with the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Trail Blazers selected Leonard with the No. 11 overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft after starring at the University of Illinois at Champagne-Urbana for the Illini in the Big 10. In that same first round, Portland drafted its face of the franchise in point guard Damian Lillard at No. 6 out of Weber State.

While Lillard has thrived in the NBA in four seasons with the Trail Blazers, Leonard has grossly underwhelmed. Portland’s weakness in its front court remains a primary reason behind the Trail Blazers difficulty in navigating deep Western Conference Playoff runs.

That being said, Leonard is coming off his best season as a professional in 2015-16, where he had career highs in minutes (21.9 per game), points (8.4 per game), rebounds (5.1 per game), and assists (1.5 per game).

Leonard has always been a solid three-point shooter as a seven-footer, making 38.5% of his attempts from beyond the arc. It has been a key reason in his growth the last two seasons after playing sparingly for head coach Terry Stotts his first two seasons with the Trail Blazers.

Now that Leonard is under contract through the 2019-20 after agreeing to his four-year extension, it seems that Stotts and general manager Neil Olshey have full confidence that Leonard can be the star front court player the Trail Blazers desperately need.

Next: NBA: 2000s All-Decade First Team

Signing Festus Ezeli this summer will help and Mason Plumlee seems like a good front court fit in Portland, but if the Trail Blazers are going to want to be Western Conference Finals caliber in the next few years, much of the heavy lifting will have to come from their newest $41 million man in Leonard.

For more NBA free agency news, please check out our NBA free agency category page.

Home/NBA Free Agency