The NBA is on hold right now as everybody deals with the effects of the global coronavirus pandemic so the majority of the attention turns to the summer and, most notably, the NBA Draft.
The Philadelphia 76ers, surprisingly, hold the 22nd pick in the draft due to the success of the Oklahoma City Thunder that nobody saw coming. So, with that pick, they can fill a lot of different needs. One of those needs is shooting–obviously–but another need is bench scoring and a backup point guard. This latest mock draft fills both of the bench needs in one player.
NBC Sports has Alabama point guard Kira Lewis Jr. mocked to the Sixers at 22:
Details: 18 years old, 6-foot-3, 165 lbs
Key Stats: 18.5 ppg, 5.2 apg, 4.8 rpg, 1.7 spg, 37% 3PTLewis checks a lot of boxes. He’s young for a sophomore — he enrolled at Alabama as a 17-year old and won’t turn 19 until April — and he put up huge numbers for an Alabama team that is built to run, run, run and shoot nothing but threes and layups. He also shot 37 percent from three for the second consecutive season. He’s slender, he’s turnover prone and part of the reason he produced as much as he did this season was because of the pace that Alabama played at. He’s worth a first round pick, especially considering his age.
The Sixers tried to fill their backup point guard need with Raul Neto and Trey Burke, but neither have worked out. Neto has been pushed out of the rotation with the emergence of Shake Milton and the acquisition of Alec Burks and Burke isn’t even with the team anymore. So, Lewis Jr. can fill a lot of needs for this team on the offensive end when Ben Simmons hits the bench. [lawrence-related id=30129,30118,30112]