The New Orleans Pelicans’ drafting of Kira Lewis was an unexpected pick, even if the franchise had long targeted the speedy Alabama guard. With the team lacking wing play and shooting, a 3&D wing seemed like the most obvious choice heading into the draft.
Lewis still provides the Pelicans a unique trait that did not exist on the team last season in speed. While Lonzo Ball plays fast, Lewis is physically fast and gives the Pelicans a different dynamic this season.
Immediately after the draft on Thursday, Lewis spoke about what a strong duo he and Ball could be on the court. Despite both being nominally listed as point guards, Stan Van Gundy said in his own post-draft availability that he expects the two to share the court this season.
“I think if you really look around the NBA now, one of the trends we’re seeing for teams, which I think is a good one, is to try to get multiple playmakers on the floor,” he said. “A lot of guys that can make plays. Lonzo’s there. We’ve already had Brandon there. We’re excited about Nickeil Alexander-Walker and now Kira (Lewis). I think there’s going to be a lot of teams with two guys that you would probably classify as point guards but you can play them together.
“I think we’ve seen with some teams, like Oklahoma City this year, was three point guards with Chris Paul and Dennis Schroder and Shai-Gilgeous Alexander,” Van Gundy continued. “They were playing three guys like that. I think it’s a trend of ‘Get as many playmakers as you can on the floor.’ You might give up a little size at times, though certainly with Lonzo we don’t. And those guys are going to go out and play really hard and be very tough to guard off the dribble and make plays for each other.”
Last season, Ball shared the court often with other ball-handling guards, mainly in Jrue Holiday. Of his 2,025 minutes played last season, 1,103 of those came with Holiday. After that, 293 came with Frank Jackson and 112 came from Nickeil Alexander-Walker. While those numbers could have some overlap, more than half of Ball’s minutes came with another point guard on the court.
Lewis, then, will fill some of those 1,103 minutes left open with Holiday being traded to Milwaukee, as will Eric Bledose who was acquired in the deal as well. But given Ball’s ability to pass the upcourt fast and Lewis’ ability to race up court, it could create some exciting basketball next season.