The Knicks could try to trade the draft – at cost – to find their point guard solution, or they could trade, get additional resources and select Lewis Jr. as a safe choice in the first round.
The gap between the third best guard in this class and the sixth best guard may not be very large. Different scouts across the league will rank the best players in a variety of orders. Why not consider going back when the marginal difference between the player you can get at eight versus later in the first round may not be as large?
The 6 foot 3 guard is coming out of a strong second season in the SEC where he averaged 18.5 points with 45.9% of shots, including 36.6% on 3 of 4.9 attempts per game. His greatest strength is using his speed in transition where he scored 1,132 points per possession, for Synergy. But that doesn’t mean he can’t score in the middle of the court – for a ball carrier, he’s also an effective point shooter.
With RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson excelling in the open field, a quick starter like Kira Lewis Jr. could represent a fun bout on Madison Square Garden for seasons to come.
