OKC Thunder: 3 season goals for T.J. Leaf in 2020-21

T.J. Leaf was acquired via trade from the Indiana Pacers. Here are three goals for the 2020-21 season with the OKC Thunder.

When a team like the OKC Thunder enters a full-on rebuild, they are going to make trades. When a general manager like Sam Presti is at the helm, this becomes trades upon trades. Presti used Jalen Lecque who he got in the Chris Paul trade to land T.J. Leaf.

While this trade may not look too exciting on the surface, there are many hidden benefits to the Thunder which may continue to help through the rebuild. Leaf is a good prospect who just never seemed to fit the Indiana Pacers system.

During his three years with the Pacers. Leaf averaged 3.3 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.3 assists in just 8.7 minutes per game. He shot the ball well from the field going at 49.1 percent on 3.1 field goal attempts.

The OKC Thunder see plenty of upside in Leaf.

Leaf was taken with the 18th pick in the 2017 NBA draft. This was after he spent a single season with UCLA where he averaged 16.3 points, 8.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.1 blocks, and 0.6 steals in 29.9 minutes per game.

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He shot the ball incredibly well in college, going at 64.4 percent from the floor. This was helped by his 46.6 percent from deep which is a great number for a 6’10’ power forward. While he only took 1.7 attempts per game, this shows that he is able to make really good decisions.

There has always been one glaring weakness in Leaf’s game. He has never shot well from the free-throw line. He only shot the ball at 67.9 percent from the stripe. With all this in mind, it is time to take a look at the three goals for Leaf in the 2020-21 season.