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Miami Heat: 3 goals for Meyers Leonard in the 2019-20 season

By Tristan Tucker

PORTLAND, OR - MAY 20: Meyers Leonard #11 speaks with Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers during Game Four of the Western Conference Finals on May 20, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images)
PORTLAND, OR - MAY 20: Meyers Leonard #11 speaks with Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers during Game Four of the Western Conference Finals on May 20, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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PORTLAND, OR – MAY 20: Meyers Leonard #11 speaks with Damian Lillard #0 of the Portland Trail Blazers during Game Four of the Western Conference Finals on May 20, 2019 at the Moda Center in Portland, Oregon. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Sam Forencich/NBAE via Getty Images) /

In our Three Goals series, we’ll look to the future for each Miami Heat player, forecasting what their top goals should be for the coming season. Up today is Meyers Leonard.

Meyers Leonard was added to the Miami Heat this summer via the same trade that netted the team all-star Jimmy Butler. In the four-team trade, the Miami Heat sent away Josh Richardson, Hassan Whiteside and a lottery protected first round pick and acquired Butler and Leonard.

The 7’1” beast out of Illinois spent his first seven seasons in the league with the Portland Trail Blazers, where he was drafted with the 11th overall pick in the 2012 NBA draft.

Leonard has career averages of 5.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists with only .2 steals and .3 blocks per game, so what makes him so valuable?

Easily, the answer is his 3-point shooting. About half of his field goal attempts are from deep in a typical season, and he shoots a very effective 38.5 percent for his career from that range and shot an amazing 45 percent from deep last season.

Well-known for his 30 point outburst against the Warriors in the 2019 Western Conference Finals, where he shot five-of-eight from 3 and collected 12 rebounds, Leonard will be looking to continue this dominance and earn himself a name in the league. Add to this that this was the first time Leonard had scored more than 20 points since late 2015, and Leonard has all the motivation he needs going into the 2019-20 season on a fresh new team.

Here are some realistic goals for Leonard, as he enters the infamous Miami Heat training regimen, and learns under the great Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley, along with new assistant coach and former Miami Heat big man, Malik Allen.

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