NBA Mock Draft 3.0: The New Orleans Pelicans Land the Best Shooter
Kira Lewis Jr.. 23. player. 110. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Miami Heat. Point Guard Guard / Alabama
The Miami Heat have been one of the surprise teams in the NBA this year, finding themselves in the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference.
Miami has drafted well and is getting big production out of youngsters Tyler Herro, Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn.
Miami does have a glut of power forwards and wings, so they will likely try to shore up either point guard or shooting guard with this pick.
With the possibility of Goran Dragic leaving in free agency, they might take a point guard like Kira Lewis Jr. to be his eventual replacement.
Kira Lewis Jr. certainly has some glaring weaknesses to his game, he turns the ball over too much and shoots just 45.8 percent from the field overall.
He’s also rail thin and doesn’t project as much of a defender at the next level.
What Lewis Jr. does add is blazing speed and he and guard Nunn would form one of the most exciting and athletic backcourts in the league.
player. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Power Forward / University of Maryland. Utah Jazz. Jalen Smith. 24. 118
Like the New Orleans Pelicans, the Utah Jazz are in the enviable position of not needing to draft out of need.
The Jazz may be looking to move Rudy Gobert and are in need of a power forward even if they don’t.
Jalen Smith has good size at 6-foot-10 and is already averaging 2.3 blocks per game, a skill that would bolster Utah’s already stifling defense.
Power Forward / DePaul. Paul Reed. player. 149. Pick Analysis. Oklahoma City Thunder. 25. Scouting Report
The Oklahoma City Thunder are are somewhat of a surprise team this year. Currently in the sixth seed, the Thunder have been on a tear after a slow start and rank high on the list of teams no one wants to play in the playoffs due to their uncanny ability to finish games.
It’s likely that Danilo Gallinari will walk in free agency, so the Thunder will look to shore up the power forward position.
Paul Reed is a Junior at DePaul and one of the older players in the draft, but he’ll be one of the most read to play immediately.
Reed will certainly not replace Gallinari’s scoring or floor spacing, but he can do two things well that usually translate to the NBA, rebound and block shots.
Center / Duke. player. 18. Boston Celtics. Vernon Carey Jr.. 26. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis
The Celtics hunt for a reliable big continues and Vernon Carey Jr. has the package of tantalizing skills that the Celtics will find too tempting to pass up.
Carey Jr. has the type of back-to-the-basket game that is rapidly going extinct in the NBA, but bigs who can score in the paint and grab rebounds will always have a place somewhere in the league.
Carey Jr. gets 17.6 points per game for Duke on 57.7 percent shooting and has a crafty game in the paint.
The problem is that Carey Jr. does not have a great NBA body, doesn’t rebound particularly well for someone his size and is not a great rim protector, though he does block 1.6 per game.
Carey Jr. is the type of matchup-dependent center who could come off the bench and give the Celtics a burst of scoring when they need it, but he might not be useful against smaller lineups, as he gets gassed easily and is not an end-to-end rim runner.