Meyers Leonard explains why he’s in ‘good place’ with Heat. And Crowder on NBA restart
Center Meyers Leonard might still be able to play a few more games in a Miami Heat uniform before he’s forced to make a free agent decision this upcoming offseason — whenever that is.
Even though the 2019-20 NBA season has been suspended since March 11 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s hope around the league that it can be completed in the coming months with the Heat’s AmericanAirlines Arena practice facility reopening to players Wednesday for voluntary individual workouts. But once the season is over, Leonard’s important offseason will just be getting started.
After eight NBA seasons, Leonard, 28, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason. And the 7-footer continues to indicate the Heat will be near the top of his free agent wish list, with his latest comments coming during a recent appearance on The Oregonian columnist John Canzano’s podcast.
“I’m in a good place here in Miami,” Leonard said on the podcast. “I really feel as though I help Jimmy [Butler] and Bam [Adebayo] in a lot of ways. I space the floor, I give them opportunities to attack driving lanes and get out in transition. Again, I don’t mind taking the physical demand. I don’t mind boxing out every single time. If the ball comes to me, fine. If we get it, that’s great and that’s what I want.”
Leonard, who spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career with the Portland Trail Blazers before he was dealt to the Heat last summer as part of the four-team Butler trade, has averaged 6.1 points while shooting 52 percent from the field and 42.9 percent on threes, 5.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 20.1 minutes this season.
With Leonard on the court, the Heat has been a better team. Miami posted a 34-15 in the 49 games he played in this season compared to a 7-9 record in the 16 games he missed prior to the league shutdown because of a sprained left ankle.
A lot of that success has to do with defense, as Miami has allowed 105.5 points per 100 possessions with Leonard on the court compared to a less efficient defensive rating of 109.6 when he’s not playing.
“My communication, I’m continually getting better in defensive pick-and-roll,” Leonard continued on the podcast. “I’m continually getting better at rotating quicker on help side. That’s clear. By the way, go look at the numbers — Miami Heat when Meyers was in the starting lineup and Miami Heat when Meyers was not in the starting lineup. I’ve made a big difference here.
“I know that I’m limited in some ways, but I’m continually getting better in those areas. And also, as I just mentioned, I’m a good team defender. I’m good on the block, as well.”
The Heat should have the cap space this offseason to keep Leonard, but finding the room to sign him to a long-term contract will be challenging because the Heat wants to preserve max cap space for the summer of 2021 for a pursuit of Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, who can become a free agent that summer, and others in what should be a loaded free agent class.
“I do think I play a very specific role,” Leonard said on the podcast. “I know for sure that Miami loves my role and what I bring to the table. I’m very good at communicating. I study scouting reports very, very hard and in very much detail. I know what their guards want, I know what their bigs want. I care about winning. I don’t care about shots, I don’t care about rebounds, I don’t care about blocked shots, I don’t care about any of that. I care about winning, period.
“I’m OK setting screens and getting our guards open. I’m OK spacing the floor and not being the guy that has to take all the shots. I don’t care. I care about winning.”
JAE CROWDER SPEAKS
Forward Jae Crowder confirmed he was one of the Heat players who worked out at AmericanAirlines Arena on Wednesday, the first day the team opened its downtown Miami practice facility under strict NBA guidelines since league facilities were ordered closed to players and staff on March 20 amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We opened up yesterday,” Crowder said in a Thursday afternoon interview on ESPN SportsCenter’s Instagram Live. “I’m a vet now, so me and Udonis Haslem took the court. Me and Udonis Haslem were on the court together, we worked out together for 40 minutes on the court, 40 minutes weightlifting and just got up out of there. But we never came in contact with each other. We were always on different ends of the court.”
The Heat said it will not disclose the identity or number of players participating since the workouts are voluntary. But Crowder and Haslem have both confirmed they went into the arena for workouts Wednesday.
The reopening was expected to draw most of the roster to AmericanAirlines Arena on the first day, according to a league source. ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne reporting that 12 Heat players went in for workouts Wednesday.
“I just want to be safe,” Crowder said when asked if the NBA should complete the 2019-20 season. “Obviously, I miss the game. We all miss the game. We love the game, we love the work. But I want to be safe. I don’t want to feel like it’s rushed. Even though we’re missing out on a lot of money from a league standpoint, from everybody taking pay cuts and things like that. But I just want everybody to be safe.”
Like Leonard, Crowder will become an unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason. And like Leonard, it sounds like Crowder is happy with the Heat.
“They have their own way of doing things and I respect that,” said Crowder, who was traded to the Heat in February along with Andre Iguodala and Solomon Hill. “They’ve been champions before. When I first got here, basically they had it going, but there was a couple pieces that were missing. They felt like we were those pieces. From that point on, I felt like it was our duty to just be veterans. They just want us to be veterans. Play how we play and not change anything, just help these young guys and help show them a style of play to win.
“I just felt like we knew in our head where we wanted to go, but we had work to do. We had a couple weeks to prepare for this playoff run and it was all championship talk. It was nothing less than that. Kudos to the organization and what Pat [Riley] has done is he has created a championship environment. ... We wanted to come out of the East, no doubt. I felt like with that being our goal, we were definitely going to give it a good shot.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 4:47 PM.
