NBA Draft 2020: Best/worst fits for this year’s consensus lottery picks

Kira Lewis Jr., G, Alabama

Best: Phoenix Suns (10)

The Suns are building a strong foundation around All-Star guard Devin Booker and former No. 1 pick Deandre Ayton, with an assortment of versatile wings (Kelly Oubre, Mikal Bridges, Cam Johnson) and impact veterans (Ricky Rubio, Dario Šarić, Aron Baynes) filling out the rest of the roster.

The No. 10 pick could be used in a package for Chris Paul, per recent reports, but if not, using it on a long-term option at point guard makes sense, making Kira Lewis Jr. an obvious fit in Phoenix. He’d have a veteran guard to learn from, a beloved head coach in Monty Williams and a quick, spread offense to feast in.

Worst: New York Knicks (8)

Placing the Knicks here as the “worst” fit for Lewis is more of a wait-and-see type of proposition. There are real avenues for such a pairing to work out — Lewis, RJ Barrett, and Mitchell Robinson would make up an intriguing young core, especially if the front office was to go out and sign shooters on the wing (Malik Beasley, Bogdan Bodganović) and frontcourt (Juancho Hernangómez, Davis Bertans, Danilo Gallinari) to space the floor and enable the ball-handlers to run spread pick-and-roll.

Lewis and Barrett are at their best with clear lanes to the basket and spaced floors, so such a roster construction would serve them well.

But how confident can we be in the Knicks higher-ups, who routinely trip over their own feet? After all, New York drafted a rough outside shooter in Barrett last year and proceeded to surround him with an army of non-spacing power forwards, so they haven’t exactly earned the benefit of the doubt.

The hiring of development-focused assistant coaches is rather encouraging, and head coach Tom Thibodeau does have a track record working with athletic pick-and-roll guards (see: Rose, Derrick), so the pairing could work out, but it’s unclear how patient he’d be with a young guard who will inevitably go through rookie growing pains.

The Knicks do need a point guard long-term, and Lewis should be a serious contender to go eighth overall, but there are just too many ways for such a pairing to go poorly, mostly because of the shaky ownership and front office situation.