Jon Leuer is showing promise in a back up role with the Suns during the preseason, averaging 9.5 points and 6.5 boards in 17.0 minutes per game.
He also shot 50 percent from 3-point range and hit five of eight tries in the final three preseason games.
Last Oct. 21, Leuer scored eight of his 11 points in the fourth quarter to help the Suns rally from a 16-point deficit to beat the Mavericks 99-87.
The 6-10 Leuer entered Suns training camp in competiton with Mirza Teletovic for the backup power forward job, but Suns coach Jeff Hornacek now see the two sharing the role and at times sliding Leuer to the center position, The Arizona Republic reported.
Leuer, 26, finds that to be a good idea and feels it will cause problems for opposing teams who will be forced to put a big center on one of them.
He also acknowledged that Teletovic has a high basketball IQ and that they could complement each other.
Leuer was optimistic about the style change with the Suns, since his shooting touch, guard skills and athleticism were not complemented by the grind-it-out style of his former team, the Grizzlies.
With the Suns running in transition and a chance of popping off screens for long jump shots, Leuer hopes to recover his shooting accuracy from two seasons ago, when he shot 49 percent from the field, including 47 percent from 3-point range.
While playing for the Grizzlies, Leuer had a career-high 23 points, along with nine boards and three blocks, in a 110-91 win over the Phoenix Suns in December 3, 2013. His first career double-double came six days later in a 94-85 win over the Orlando Magic where he scored 16 and grabbed 12 boards.
On December 7, 2014, Leuer scored 20 and had 12 rebounds in a 103-87 win over the Heat.
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