Which Memphis Grizzlies Player Has the Most Upside Right Now?

Jon Leuer has the greatest potential of the few Memphis Grizzlies players who haven't tapped 80 percent of their talents. The slow, grinding Grizzlies would benefit from giving Leuer every opportunity to boost the offense with his outside shooting.

Comparing Leuer with other Grizzlies players with much to show

The Grizzlies have only a few players who are green in terms of playing experience, and the 25-year-old Leuer is the only one close to becoming more than a limited-role player.

In January, head coach Dave Joerger spoke proudly of the 6'10", 228-pound power forward, telling Memphis' The Commercial Appeal (subscription required), "He's really, really reliable. ... I mean, the guy has won us some ballgames."

Both draft picks, Jordan Adams and Jarnell Stokes, have plenty of questions to go with their impressive qualities.

Adams has tremendous playmaking ability and shoots at a high clip, but struggles as a ball-handler. His defense revolves around his knack for getting steals.

Stokes could eventually become a starter due to his terrific rebounding and tough defense. On the other side of the floor, he needs work. As his Draft Express profile mentioned, Stokes needs to add post moves and improve the accuracy of his passes.

Quincy Pondexter has potential as a three-point specialist, but his game won't expand as much as Leuer's. Pondexter holds a 14 percent career-usage rate, whereas Leuer had a 21.1 percent mark in his first season with a long stretch in the rotation.

Also, Pondexter, who enters his fifth season, doesn't excel anywhere besides three-point shooting and perimeter defense. Leuer knocks down threes better than Pondexter, rebounds effectively, attacks the basket and defends a bit. 

Of these Grizzlies, Leuer will have the highest spot in the rotation. Leuer will be the No. 2 power forward ahead of Stokes and the fourth big man overall. Adams will be buried in the backcourt set as the No. 3 shooting guard.

Pondexter, who's Memphis' second-best small forward, depends on his positional flexibility to get enough minutes. Despite how much he can offer beyond the arc and on defense, he may be slotted as a 2-guard or a stretch-4 while Tayshaun Prince gets time due to him as a pricey veteran.

Scoring

Leuer scratched the surface of his scoring capacity last season. He averaged 11.4 points per game between Nov. 30 and Jan. 7. During that time, he had 12 double-digit scoring affairs.

Leuer came alive as a three-point threat. He shot 46.9 percent for the season, including 52 percent during the aforementioned period.

While those few weeks contained most of his seasonal production, he later had moments in which he showed how fast he compiles points. He had 19 points in 26 minutes on March 5 against the Brooklyn Nets and 10 points on 5-of-8 from the field in 17 minutes on March 8 against the Charlotte Bobcats.

He told reporters at the end of the season that he understood the need to be prepared for anything, saying, "I just knew that when Coach [Joerger] called my name, it was my job to be ready and do that to the best of my ability."

Not only does the three-year pro pose an outside threat, but he's also effective in the paint. As his NBA.com shot chart shows, he made 62.7 percent at the rim and 53.3 percent in the rest of the paint.

NBA.com shot chart

He took more shots inside than outside, attempting 24.8 percent of his shots at the rim and only 19.9 percent from downtown.

Leuer's scoring burst last winter was a first step as a productive offensive player.

General manager Chris Wallace alluded to how he could soon blossom after deciding not to extend Ed Davis a qualifying offer, saying, "He's gone through the introductory part of an NBA player's career, and now he can move into the most productive part, which is the middle age of a player's career."

Wallace was then quick to mention how Leuer stretches the floor with his shooting, indicating high hopes for Leuer's contribution to Memphis' offense.

A growing rebounder

Leuer leaped tremendously as a patrolman of the boards in 2013-14. He had more defensive rebounds than in his first two seasons combined. He pulled down 6.8 defensive rebounds per 36 minutes, 2.2 more than the year before, and had 8.9 total rebounds per 36. That improvement made him a well-rounded big man, adding an inside presence to his raw shooting talent.

Leuer's 22.4 percent defensive rebounding percentage finds him within one percent of Zach Randolph and Kosta Koufos. While the Wisconsin product's shrinking offensive rebounding numbers suggest he'll defer to the others on that end, he appears willing to pick up whatever they miss on the defensive glass.

In his postseason evaluation of Leuer, SB Nation's Andrew Ford attributed Leuer's strong rebounding "in part because of the way he positions himself and his rebounding instincts, but mostly his hustle."

Conclusion

Generally, the Grizzlies look forward to what Leuer will become as a bench scorer. If he gets more meaningful minutes, he could boost the second unit's scoring with his rangy shooting and spacing.

In order that he realizes the high hopes set for him, Memphis must give him significant appearances in more than a quarter of their games.

The time might come when Leuer replaces an injured Randolph. Leuer should be able to make up most of the scoring and rebounding void. Such an event could reveal the upside of this hidden frontcourt gem.

Unless otherwise noted, advanced metrics come from basketball-reference.com.