Detroit Pistons: Jon Leuer season in review and grade

Jon Leuer had an up-and-down season like few others for the Detroit Pistons in 2016-17. His struggles aptly summarized those of his team.

Jon Leuer was the biggest ticket for the Detroit Pistons in free agency last July. The Pistons signed him to a four-year $41 million dollar contract as a response to their inability to shut down Kevin Love in the playoffs a season ago, and they also expected him to add some much-needed perimeter shooting.

In the early stages of the year, it seemed like the only thing Leuer DIDN’T do well was shoot threes. His defense was solid, he was good around the basket on both ends, and by December he had impressed enough that Stan Van Gundy made room in the playbook to run some action for him.

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Leuer was one of the best Pistons when he was on the floor, but he never got that three-pointer clicking and it may have been his downfall. To start the season, he was a career 37.5 percent three-point shooter. By the end of the season, he was down to 33.8 percent for his career thanks to a 29.3 percent clip from behind the arc in 2016-17.

Leuer was moved into the starting lineup in place of Tobias Harris in late December, and the decline began. He was overmatched playing the bulk of his minutes against superior opponents for longer stretches, he struggled from the perimeter and his confidence wavered. He would linger inside the three-point line rather than stretch the floor optimally, he would opt to step inside the line when he got the ball behind the arc, and he was a big piece of why the Pistons offense got off to such rocky starts in first quarters.

It’s hard to be overly critical of his later-season struggles when he was so beneficial to keeping them afloat early. It’s not his fault Van Gundy kept him in the starting lineup and didn’t capitalize on his versatility off the bench. But his three-point shooting struggles and evident confidence issues are a problem going forward.

Grade: C-

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