Portland Trail Blazers: 5 goals for Meyers Leonard in 2017-18

1. Average at least 15 minutes per game

At his exit interview, Meyers Leonard indicated he really wanted to make the effort to improve over the offseason. That was good to hear in April. But the need to improve is even more critical now, or else he will be lost in the shuffle.

Leonard has some serious competition at the power forward spot heading into the fall. He’s one of six Blazers that could conceivably play the position.

The team drafted two potential 4s in the 2017 NBA Draft. No. 10 overall pick Zach Collins possesses a number of tools that Leonard has. No. 22 pick Caleb Swanigan was one of college basketball’s top rebounders. He’s also a hard worker that has fought through a lot of adversity in his life.

Noah Vonleh is the incumbent starter, playing that role the second half of last season. He may have the leg up in this competition. Ed Davis is coming off of surgery and is entering a contract year, so he’ll have something to prove this season. Lastly, Al-Farouq Aminu struggled as a full-time 4, but still managed to offer more on both sides of the ball last season than Leonard did.

With such a crowd at the position, Leonard will have to show that is worth the big contract. He has to dig into wherever he finds his confidence and push forward.

Leonard has had his ups and downs in his five years in Portland. However, it’s understandable how an organization can hang on to him for so long. He is an athletic seven-footer with the tools to score from everywhere, block and rebound. Unfortunately, he struggled to do any of that last season.

Next: Ranking the 10 NBA teams who have 'next' after the Warriors

2017-18 will be a pivotal year for Meyers Leonard. If he can accomplish at least a few of these five goals, he’ll be back on the right track towards fulfilling his potential.