Leonard Miller

[kekgeek]

This is from The Athletic top 100 draft prospects

13 . Leonard Miller

F | G League Ignite | Birthdate: Nov. 26, 2003 (Age: 19) | 6-9 | 215 LBS | Hometown: Scarborough, Ontario BACKGROUND

Mother is Carline. Youngest of four brothers, including Emanuel, who plays at TCU and is a future NBA Draft prospect in his own right. Miller grew up in the Toronto suburbs with his family. Really picked up basketball when he was a teenager and started training heavily. Traveled on buses for multiple hours per day to get to his first prep school. Moved around a lot to try to find the right spot for him to keep developing. He started at Thornlea, and then moved to continue his training at Wasatch Academy in Utah. Miller was around 6-foot-6 and then started growing over the course of the next year to about 6-foot-9 or so. Did not play a lot for a Wasatch team loaded with upperclassmen. Transferred down to Florida and went to Victory Rock but suffered a broken right wrist that required surgery. Decided to do a post-graduate year at Fort Erie Prep back in Canada where he played for long- time family friend Charles Hantoumakos. It was there that Miller finally broke out and thrived. He was dominant and picked up scholarship offers around the country. Was invited to Nike Hoop Summit that year and impressed evaluators. Decided to declare for the 2022 NBA Draft but ended up withdrawing to get more experience. Decided instead to commit to the G League Ignite, where Miller thrived again after some adjustment. By the end of the season, he was one of the best players on a nightly basis as a ballhandling big forward who could lead the break and live at the rim. Was automatically eligible for the 2023 NBA Draft and was invited to the 2023 NBA Draft Combine. Miller is a very high-level mixture of competitive, intellectually curious and hard-work- ing. Every reason to believe he will get the most out of his ceiling long term.

STRENGTHS

Miller has a terrific intersection of skill level and size. Measured 6-foot-9 1/2 without shoes with a 7-foot-2 wingspan and a strong 215-pound frame. Elite size for a player who can handle the ball, make plays and get out on the break. Strange blend of athletic traits. Constantly lives on the edge of being off-balance where it looks like his body is moving in different directions at the same time. However, he’s clearly confident and comfortable within his own movements, which means he’s able to get to his spots. Great body control and takes bumps well, displaying the fact that his balance is quite good despite how it seems. Very strong. Tops that off by playing hard all the time. Aggressive player who uses his athleticism to make an impact all over the court both as a leaper and on the ground. Seems to get off the floor quickly as a leaper. Quick reactions. All of this leads to him being a very real mismatch threat in a lot of different situations. He particularly excels out on the break. Tremendous grab-and-go player out in transition. Averaged over 10 rebounds per game this past season in the G League, many of which started instant offense down the floor. Very long strides. Covers ground quickly. Kind of a freight train out in space. Uses that ability to understand space and how to maneuver within it well. Changes direction well and acts as a heat-seeking missile to try to find the man at the basket’s body. Will initiate contact to create that little bit of space, maintain that balance and power up through contact. Miller’s strength is ridiculous for his size. He’s incredibly strong and physical, and the strength looks like it will continue to get better as he ages. It’s hard to overemphasize how terrific Miller’s finishing acumen is. He has superb touch. Because of his ball skills, he’s very versatile in the actions in which he can be used. Has an enormous bag of tricks on the interior. Great hand-eye coordination and can finish above the rim when rolling out of ball screens and rim running as a cutter. Can also leap off two feet out of the dunker spot and finish. Made 66.7 percent of his shots at the rim in total and 61.3 in half-court settings. Given some of the degree of difficulty on some of those, impressive numbers. Really good instincts for when to time his cut out of the dunker spot, and when to time his roll because of his ability to put the ball on the deck out of short-roll scenarios. But more importantly, can also attack in straight lines in the half court. Will get the ball in the mid-post and try to attack in a straight line. Can still go through contact and get all the way to the rim with his Euro steps or deceleration techniques. But where the mismatch situations really come in is when he’s matched up against a big on the perimeter. He’s good at getting his hips lower than them and driving by with a smart first step, then getting all the way to the rim. Not wildly explosive but very good at finding those angles. The blend of physical traits allows Miller to be a terrific finisher. Those weird movements allow him to throw off rim protectors and avoid contact, creating finishing angles others can’t really find. Loves to Euro step or crossover and get back to his right hand. Can change direction without having to change speed with his handle at his size. Makes them with either hand as well. Has that rare blend of touch at the basket. Throws up some ridiculous, different shots at the rim that go in. Despite being a lefty, he can get to the right-handed floater and knock them down. I buy him as a passer and playmaker at his size in a secondary role long term even with the warts right now. Ignite used him occasionally in some ball screen opportunities as a ballhandler, and I liked his vision as a playmaker. Hit some smart cross- corner passes. Numbers don’t jump off the page because Miller wasn’t typically asked to be utilized in a playmaking role. But his tape at lower levels really showcased high-level passing vision. Very good at the jump pass, drawing defenders toward him then quickly reacting to who is coming. He averaged only 1.6 assists per game, but much like the rest of the season, he showed tremendous growth in the second half. Over his last 15 games, he averaged 2.5 assists per game versus 1.5 turnovers. There are also some real defensive tools I buy into long term. I think he will be a plus on-ball defender in the NBA. Miller plays very hard and never gives up on plays. When he has an assignment, he excels at it. Think the growth he showed on that end this past season in terms of tools and technique was strong. Defended multiple position types. Can deal with players from the wing up to the center position. Can slide and stay in front of wings, but because he’s so strong, you also can’t go through his chest as a driver by lowering his shoulder. Walls up and stays in front of his man. Does so with his arms very high in the air. Can defend men on the block. Plus, he uses that immense length with an 8-foot-10 1/2 standing reach to be able to contest shots. Had some moments of navigating off-ball actions well just by being willing to fight. Has shown some upside with weakside rim rotations. Averaged about one steal and one block per game.


WEAKNESSES

Miller is extremely raw and does not have a ton of high-level basketball experience. Plays almost entirely reactively right now because he still doesn’t know 100 percent what he’s doing on the court at times. Miller is kind of the ultimate test case for a question that NBA evaluators have different opinions on. Does a lack of experience mean a player still has upside to grow into as he gains it? Or does it mean he’s lost a lot of important reps that he can’t get back? Another big question with Miller is the jumper. Made just 32.1 percent of his catch-and-shoot 3-point jumpers this past season, per Synergy. Many of them were entirely unguarded opportunities as teams played off him, daring him to shoot. He had a lot of mechanical flaws despite that real touch mentioned above regarding his finishing at the rim. His shot prep was very square to the basket, meaning it seemed like his elbow wasn’t always aligned and he was kind of turning in midair. Has a really bad base. Release was inconsistent in terms of rhythm and tempo. Sometimes he’d really speed it up. Sometimes it was slow and methodical. Landing area was always different from shot to shot. Also had a lot of off-hand interaction in the shot, which led to right/left misses. Very inconsistent misses overall. Did not look like something he had a lot of faith in from one shot to the next. Having seen him in pre-draft workouts, Miller’s jumper has improved in terms of rhythm, landing in the same space and with off-hand placement. He has upside in this respect because he has elite touch. But until he proves it in-game when guys are closing out on him, it’s impossible to trust. Miller can be a bit turnover-prone. Improved his overall intensity as the season went on, understanding what it takes to be constantly always engaged. Gets loose with his handle because of it. Was a bit casual early in the season, probably the result of his lack of experience and previous ability to dominate lower levels with ease. Got ripped with way too much ease. But also has occasional processing problems too. Picks up his dribble absent-mindedly a bit too easily. Seems to still be a bit mechanical and not quite as fluid as you want to see someone you hope develops into being a point forward. He is kind of indecisive. Again, this improved throughout the season, which offers real upside hope long term. But he needs to showcase it over a longer stretch in real games. Defensively, Miller is hit or miss, especially away from the ball. Way too inconsistent. Really bad closeouts. That might be the biggest part of his defensive issues. Closes out very high and has bad feet. Legit ends up getting dropped by players attacking his heavy closeouts somewhat regularly. But even more than that, he gets attacked every time and gives up easy attacks and rim pressure. Probably won’t be able to play in the NBA until he fixes this. Still misses rotations more often than you’d like. Again, a lot of this comes down to experience. Miller seems to react late on those rotations to close out, which means he’s closing out heavily and putting himself in bad spots. A lot of the issues come down to being put in spots where he has to be overaggressive. He bites on pump fakes and pushes out onto his rotations too often. But he also misses on a lot of seeming communication errors where he seems to be the one who wasn’t totally sure on the coverage, and it results in an easy layup. Will switch when he shouldn’t or play too high at the level and miss his gaps.

SUMMARY

Miller is going to be an incredibly polarizing prospect. He was last cycle as well. The only difference is that this time evaluators are forced into making a decision on him as opposed to being able to kick the can down the road. The other key difference is that Miller has displayed success against elite competition after his last month and a half in the G League. Miller does stuff you can’t really teach. He’s a big ballhandler who hits the glass and can really attack and cover ground quickly with long strides but also decelerate and change direction with the ball. His athleticism is a rare blend. He’s an elite finisher with incredible touch around the basket – the touch that kind of gives you hope long term that an elite shooting coach will be able to fix it. There’s some passing ability here. There’s some defensive upside here. It’s all just in the form of an entirely unshaped diamond who may never reach its full form because he’s starting from such a deficit in terms of experience. Miller had never played a level above the Ontario Scholastic League prior to this past season. He didn’t get to play AAU basketball against high-level athletes who can match him. Before he played at Nike Hoop Summit and the combine last year, he’d never even consistently played in games against Division I-level talent. For him to figure out the G League within a year is remarkable when put in that context. But even with that terrific play, he still has a lot of warts that will be taken advantage of to a greater degree in the NBA. I just hope Miller goes to a positive developmental situation that will be willing to take their time and teach him. The intel is pristine. He is a sponge who wants to learn. If you’re willing to be patient, you could end up with a steal. To answer the question posed above regarding a lack of experience meaning lost reps or upside, I think the answer depends on the person. With Miller, I tend to buy that there is real upside here because I buy the human being involved. Miller is intellectually curious and wants to be great at basketball. I’ll buy that he can pick up the time he’s lost already because I think he’ll put in the extra time to do so.

[Carlos Danger]

I like the move and the pick. TC isn't afraid to swing for the fences and that's what this move/pick is. Let's see if they can develop him into a rotational guy. I like the progress/development I saw from Minott last year. I'm assuming this kid can eventually find some minutes based on defense alone. And if you can get any minutes from a second round pick - you did a good job.

[FNG]

I love that TC turned two future second round picks into a big who flourished in the Ignite League last year and was a first rounder on many boards. I get the Minott comparisons, but make no mistake...he is much less raw than Minott. At age 19 he was putting up double doubles in a pro league (playing with Scoot Henderson) while Minott was averaging 6 and 3 at Memphis. I still see the Wolves letting Naz go...if not this summer, certainly before 2024-5. And Miller will be a big upgrade over Naz getting minutes next to Rudy and KAT. He's a much better defender and rebounder, and his 3-point shooting was over 35% the second half of last season. I think he will turn out to be a 3-point threat much like Naz. TC has to be applauded for turning two future picks that will likely be in the 50s into a first round talent who will be ready to contribute right away.

[Monster]

I love that TC turned two future second round picks into a big who flourished in the Ignite League last year and was a first rounder on many boards. I get the Minott comparisons, but make no mistake...he is much less raw than Minott. At age 19 he was putting up double doubles in a pro league (playing with Scoot Henderson) while Minott was averaging 6 and 3 at Memphis. I still see the Wolves letting Naz go...if not this summer, certainly before 2024-5. And Miller will be a big upgrade over Naz getting minutes next to Rudy and KAT. He's a much better defender and rebounder, and his 3-point shooting was over 35% the second half of last season. I think he will turn out to be a 3-point threat much like Naz. TC has to be applauded for turning two future picks that will likely be in the 50s into a first round talent who will be ready to contribute right away.

FNG it’s worth mentioning that Minott didn’t play much at Memphis but the numbers he put up were actually pretty good. Minott was probably more polished in the do shit categories than the numbers you showed suggest.

Having said that yes Miller putting up the stats he did in the G-league is more legit than what Minott did in Memphis. What I think is really encouraging is that he got double digit rebounds despite not playing much high level basketball before playing there and used to be a guard.

People are wanting a lead guard or someone to fit next to Edwards. You know one of the hardest spots to fill on an NBA roster the last few seasons is? It’s PF Connelly made a move for Aaron Gordon that turned out to be a very good move and was a piece to a championship. Connelly has drafted guys like Vanderbilt, Minott and now Miller who profile as versatile guys who could play that spot and in the case of Miller maybe even a smaller C. What if we hit on both Minott and Miller? One of those guys could be really valuable in a trade. I would not be surprised if Minott is a guy that is a solid asset in a trade right now. I don’t think the Wolves are looking to move him but to me that’s part of the point of the draft later is get good players and someday they can also become assets if you draft well.

It will be interesting to see how the big situation plays out. To me the only way they keep knight is if Naz goes elsewhere. I’m cool with moving on from knight in general. I’m fine with keeping Naz and Garza and having Miller as the next developmental big coming. With 3 total 2-way roster spots they can add a couple perimeter guys and keep Garza on a 2-way for this coming season.

[FNG]

Monster, I'm high on both Minott and Miller, and I agree with Kek that they will make a very entertaining forward duo in summer league. I'm trying to muster the same level of excitement for Moore Jr. but I'm not feeling it yet...I hope he plays and surprises me.

[Monster]

Monster, I'm high on both Minott and Miller, and I agree with Kek that they will make a very entertaining forward duo in summer league. I'm trying to muster the same level of excitement for Moore Jr. but I'm not feeling it yet...I hope he plays and surprises me.

I get the lack of belief in Moore. IMO he is more the guy that just does his job at things instead of wowing anyone. I still have some belief in him but we will see and yes it would be nice to have him show something in summer league. The reality is that if Connelly hit on Minott and hits on Miller in this draft (or one of the other later picks or an undrafted dude) I can live with him missing on Moore. Nobody hits on every guy. It’s kinda like when Rosas drafted Bolmaro before McDaniels but in general people don’t really talk about that because the McDaniels pick was so good. Connelly picked RJ Hampton right after Bolmoro which looks kinda bad with some good players left on the board but it’s worth remembering Connelly moved him in a package to get Aaron Gordon which keeps looking smarter as time goes on.

I won’t be surprised if Minott only plays a couple games in SL. Heck maybe Miller too I mean he was pretty good in the G-league last year although both guys may just need all the reps they can get. Think about the guys the Wolves can have on their roster next year and their production in the G-league. Minott, Garza and Miller. What is that over 65 points and around 30 rebounds between those 3 guys?

[Lipoli390]

I like the move and the pick. TC isn't afraid to swing for the fences and that's what this move/pick is. Let's see if they can develop him into a rotational guy. I like the progress/development I saw from Minott last year. I'm assuming this kid can eventually find some minutes based on defense alone. And if you can get any minutes from a second round pick - you did a good job.

I don’t think he’ll get minutes based on defense. Read the draft analysis again. Like other analyses it points out that his defense is currently a big liability. He has terrific defensive potential, but he’s not close right now to being NBA ready on the defensive end. If he were to get NBA minutes any time soon, it would be based on his rebounding. He was a terrific rebounder at the G-League level and that should translate immediately to the NBA.

[Lipoli390]

I love that TC turned two future second round picks into a big who flourished in the Ignite League last year and was a first rounder on many boards. I get the Minott comparisons, but make no mistake...he is much less raw than Minott. At age 19 he was putting up double doubles in a pro league (playing with Scoot Henderson) while Minott was averaging 6 and 3 at Memphis. I still see the Wolves letting Naz go...if not this summer, certainly before 2024-5. And Miller will be a big upgrade over Naz getting minutes next to Rudy and KAT. He's a much better defender and rebounder, and his 3-point shooting was over 35% the second half of last season. I think he will turn out to be a 3-point threat much like Naz. TC has to be applauded for turning two future picks that will likely be in the 50s into a first round talent who will be ready to contribute right away.

FNG - Miller is actually more raw than Minott. Miller has huge upside and I like the pick, but unlike Minott, Miller started basketball much later in life. So he doesn’t have the ingrained instincts that Minott has. Miller’s late start playing basketball shows up in his defensive issues, decision making lapses and very poor shooting mechanics described in the analysis. There’s not substitute for starting to play basketball competitively when you’re very young. As your brain develops certain reactions and skills become wired into your brain. I thought the analysis did a nice job of pointing out the dilemma when it comes to players come to basketball relatively late in their young lives. Does it mean more upside or does it mean lack of repetitions that can never be replaced. I’d put the second half of the dilemma a bit differently. My question is whether a late starter can ever develop key core basic instincts and skills that typically get wired into the brains of those who start basketball when they’re very young, honing them against top competition in AAU basketball. The good news is that Miller, in addition to having really good physical gifts, is apparently really smart and a very quick learner. And he has apparently developed a surprisingly good handle at his size for someone who started basketball so late.

So I’m encouraged overall, but I’d bet on Minott before I’d bet on Miller because I think Minott has some foundational things wired into him that Miller doesn’t based on Minott playing competitive basketball at an earlier age than Miller. Both are intriguing prospects and worth taking in the 2nd round, although I would have preferred a more polished prospect at the #33 spot in the draft. But that’s quibbling because I do like the pick.

[FNG]

Lip, I agree that Minott is probably more developed than Miller right now. And it's also true that he struggled a little defensively last season. It's important to note though that analysts say his struggles were more in understanding team defense than effort...nobody questions his motor. And I also find it noteworthy that his production was so much better than Minott's despite his learning the game so late in his youth...Miller averaged 23.5/14.4 per 40 minutes, while Josh was still a respectable 18/10.3. I find it heartening too that both are pretty good free throw shooters for athletic big men...Josh was 75% in college and Miller was 79% last season.

Who knows how good the coaching was for Miller last season. I think we can hope that some added discipline along with his length, effort and athleticism will turn him into a very good defender.

[Lipoli390]

Lip, I agree that Minott is probably more developed than Miller right now. And it's also true that he struggled a little defensively last season. It's important to note though that analysts say his struggles were more in understanding team defense than effort...nobody questions his motor. And I also find it noteworthy that his production was so much better than Minott's despite his learning the game so late in his youth...Miller averaged 23.5/14.4 per 40 minutes, while Josh was still a respectable 18/10.3. I find it heartening too that both are pretty good free throw shooters for athletic big men...Josh was 75% in college and Miller was 79% last season.

Who knows how good the coaching was for Miller last season. I think we can hope that some added discipline along with his length, effort and athleticism will turn him into a very good defender.

I think they’re both terrific high-upside prospects. Interestingly, we now have three high-upside young guys who are very similar as long-athletic SF/PF types - McDaniels, Minott and Miller. Obviously, Jaden is MUCH further along developmentally and has already proven himself to be a really good NBA player who will likely continue to get better. But if we look three years down the road, it will be interesting to see things how shake out. Minott and Miller are better rebounders than Jaden right now, but otherwise they are similar physically and from a skills standpoint - except that Jaden is FAR MORE polished from a skills perspective at this point.

When I look out two or three years, I see a team with KAT at center, Minott or Miller at PF and Jaden at SF with Ant as our SG. Between Minott and Miller, the one who doesn’t start would be an important rotation player off the bench. If Minott and Miller develop as we would hope, we’d have plenty of defense to compensate for KAT’s defensive weaknesses. We don’t yet have anyone in the organization we can project as our starting PG down the road. So that’s a gap the organization will have to fill at some point. And of course, we can’t count on either Minott or Miller (much less both) developing to their potential. But it’s exciting.