New York Knicks: Three choices for the 8th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft

New York Knicks NBA draft Option No. 1: Kira Lewis

Kira Lewis is a well-rounded player that should be at the top of the charts for the Knicks. The 6’3″ 165 lbs guard averaged 18.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 45.9 field goal percentage, and 36.6 3-point percentage in 37.6 minutes per game. The speedy guard from the University of Alabama brings playmaking, 3-point shooting, and solid defense.

Lewis uses his elite speed to score in transition and the half-court. When he’s in transition, he can take it to the rack, find open teammates on the arc, or complete easy dump-off passes in the paint. While in the half-court, he can blow by defenders and get to the cup.

Lewis also has a solid jumper and flashes that he can attack at all three levels. Not only did he shoot the three well in college, but he had a decent mid-range game too. Combining his shooting with his speed causes defenders to second guess, which creates lapses in the defense.

Defensively, Lewis is decent on that end of the floor. Notably, he can generate many steals because he lulls opponents into making ill-advised passes and then uses his speed to cause a turnover. This would explain why Lewis averaged 1.8 steals per game this past season.

Yet, with all of these positives, there are legitimate concerns for Lewis.

For instance, Lewis has difficulty making advanced reads when it comes to passing. As I stated, Lewis can utilize his speed to find open players on the arc or in the lane for easy dump-offs. However, he struggles with making reads in the half-court by forcing passes that aren’t there or failing to understand the angle needed to get the ball through tight windows to his teammates.

Another concern about Lewis is his ability to finish through contact. When watching Lewis, it’s clear that he shies away from contact by using his inconsistent floater, which in turn reduces his ability to get to the free throw line – translating to his 4.3 free throw attempts per game.

Another concern is that he isn’t a switchable defender, so it would be difficult for him to cover bigger guards. Yet, Kira put on 15 pounds of muscle during this extensive offseason. So, that extra muscle should help him handle the physicality of bigger guards.

If the Knicks select Lewis, there should be no expectation that he would enter the starting lineup. For one, most point guards take time to adjust to the NBA. Just think of Kyle Lowry or Mike Conley, who took three to five years to develop. Lewis would definitely get reps with the second unit to get comfortable with the game’s speed and have the opportunity to play against lesser talent.

Lewis would be the best choice for the Knicks with the eighth pick (assuming that Ball and Hayes are gone) because they have not had a point guard since the dual backcourt of Raymond Felton and Jason Kidd. And since the point guard is essentially the quarterback of the team, the old NFL adage applies to the Knicks that has so many point guards. When you have a lot of quarterbacks, you have none.