Suns grab Alabama PG Kira Lewis in The Ringer’s latest NBA mock draft
Nov 3, 2020, 11:19 AM
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
(AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)
There’s volatility atop the 2020 NBA Draft class.
Either the most naturally gifted basketball talent, LaMelo Ball, or the best athlete, James Wiseman, could go No. 1. Both could also fall beyond the fifth overall pick.
Others like Tyrese Haliburton and Obi Toppin could be safe top-five picks or drop to 10th with teams liking other players’ fits.
All of it means the Phoenix Suns, who currently sit at No. 10, might have an array of choices to make: Do they go with an immediate-impact player? Does positional need become more important with so little agreement of which prospects fit into which tiers?
Those questions come into play with Kevin O’Connor’s latest mock draft at The Ringer, where he has the Suns drafting Alabama point guard Kira Lewis Jr. 10th overall.
The Suns are in good shape in the backcourt with Devin Booker and Ricky Rubio, but Rubio is 30 years old with only two seasons left on his contract. It’s time to start thinking about who’s next to help Booker contend during the latter half of his five-year contract. Lewis could provide a spark off the bench in the meantime and possibly work his way into speedy three-guard lineups. Those didn’t work so well in Phoenix the first time around, but the league has since changed, and unlike the last trio—Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, and Isaiah Thomas—this group would have a clear hierarchy with Booker being the go-to scorer, Rubio the vet, and Lewis the youngster.
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Phoenix grabs Lewis, who averaged 18.5 points and 5.2 assists per game as a sophomore, with other playmakers off the board.
O’Connor has Ball falling to No. 6 before Iowa State point guard Tyrese Haliburton and French-raised guard Killian Hayes are selected consecutively. Florida State wing Devin Vassell is picked ninth.
Notably, O’Connor has the Suns picking Lewis, a speedy scorer who could develop into a lead guard, over Toppin — the Dayton power forward’s defensive red flags might outweigh his efficiency and athleticism that helps him on offense.
Even Lewis’ status isn’t so clear.
While raw as a true lead guard, he has high-end NBA-caliber speed that could make an immediate impact. At 6-foot-3 and a thin 180 pounds, developing him behind Rubio to learn the nuances of being an NBA point guard would make sense as he fills a need for a bench ball handler to take responsibilities out of Devin Booker’s hands.
