Leonard Miller never got a fair shake with the Minnesota Timberwolves. The 2023 second-round pick spent two-and-a-half seasons glued to the Wolves' bench, playing a grand total of 179 minutes. On a team with Jaden McDaniels, Naz Reid, and Julius Randle, it was hard to find minutes available for Miller.
However, he was dealt to the Chicago Bulls as part of the Ayo Dosunmu trade andimmediately flashed his upside.
In 27 games with the Bulls, Miller averaged 11.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.1 stocks on 55.5/35.6/76.2 shooting splits. This gives Miller a solid foundation to build on, and he'll have plenty of opportunities with the Bulls' limited forward depth.
While he already showed flashes of a breakout season, with a boost in production, this could be his true breakout campaign.
The stars could be aligning for Leonard Miller
Matas Buzelis and Caleb Wilson are long-term pieces for the Bulls. Still, outside of these two, the Bulls have a clear need for reserve forward minutes, with Patrick Williams, rookie Dailyn Swain, and Isaac Okoro being his primary competition for minutes (Jalen Smith is primarily a backup five).
Considering the opportunity for minutes, and that Miller has shown flashes of brilliance, things could be aligning for him to have a breakout season.
At 6-foot-10, Miller has elite positional size. He is a switchable defender who can guard on the ball or wreak havoc off the ball. Offensively, he thrives in transition as an athletic play-finisher. For Miller to expand his offensive game and truly take another step, developing more as a creator and 3-point shooter would be ideal.
At 22, this is more than possible, though, especially as he earns a more consistent role. Miller could become a 15- to 16-point-per-game scorer if everything falls into place. That would surely qualify as a breakout season.
Even if he doesn't take a monster leap like this, I'd expect him to earn a regular role off the Bulls' bench due to his defense and athleticism.
A breakout season from Miller shouldn't reflect poorly on the Timberwolves
From a Timberwolves' perspective, I'm sure there would be a lot of debate about whether a breakout season for Miller reflects poorly on Chris Finch.
We all know that Nickeil Alexander-Walker broke out after leaving the Wolves last season. Given the Wolves' constant need for creation alongside Anthony Edwards, it was easy to criticize them for never utilizing NAW. On the surface level, it wouldn't be a good look for the Wolves if Miller became a clear part of the Bulls' core after never getting a real rotational shot in Minnesota.
But the reality is that it's really hard to develop young players and stay competitive. And who should he have played over? Beyond the three players I listed earlier (McDaniels, Reid, and Randle), there were wings/forwards like Terrence Shannon Jr., Jaylen Clark, and Josh Minott who were all understandably above him at points in his Wolves tenure.
Simply put, a player can flourish elsewhere, and it doesn't have to reflect poorly on his old team. Even if you don't believe that, the Timberwolves trade him as part of a deal to land Dosunmu, who is an awesome player. There should really be no hard feelings here. To this end, I'm wishing Miller the best with Chicago and think a breakout season is a clear possibility.
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