Pelicans: 3 Ways Kira Lewis Jr. can be used in Stan Van Gundy’s offense

Taking a look at how recently drafted Kira Lewis Jr. can be utilized in Stan Van Gundy’s offense for the New Orleans Pelicans

Last night, the New Orleans Pelicans made a head-scratching move by selecting Alabama’s Kira Lewis Jr. with the 13th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Given that the team has such obvious holes on the wing and at center, many Pelicans evaluators including myself thought they’d go in that direction.

Instead, the organization selected Lewis Jr. a combo guard who possesses blazing speed and one of the draft’s best scoring abilities. Considering the team had other holes to fill, this move felt questionable last night, but I’m willing to embrace it as one that could turn into a smart play.

The reason I feel this way is because the Pelicans roster is still not locked in for opening night yet, as David Griffin said last night, and because Stan Van Gundy will be coaching Lewis. That second part is a huge factor we cannot underrate.

Stan Van Gundy has a history of turning tweener combo-guards into All-Stars in his system. We’ve seen it happen a few times with Dwayne Wade and Jameer Nelson as the famous examples. Even to a lesser degree with Reggie Jackson in Detriot too. So while many Pelicans may be displeased with the pick, here are three ways Kira Lewis Jr. can be utilized in Stan Van Gundy’s offense to make him a great selection.

Stan Van Gundy could empower Kira Lewis Jr. to play on-ball as a dynamic pick-and-roll threat for the New Orleans Pelicans

#1-Pick-And-Roll Play

One of the reasons I can make sense of Lewis’ selection is because Stan Van Gundy’s offense is heavily based on running the patterned pick-and-roll. When watching Kira Lewis Jr. play at Alabama it seems like he always ran his offense through the pick-and-roll too.

This could be an early indication the New Orleans Pelicans are attempting to give Stan Van Gundy the proper personnel to run his system, by giving him a dangerous combo-guard who excels in one of his key plays.

See many fans were outraged that the Pelicans picked Lewis when Lonzo Ball is already on the roster, but Ball is nowhere near the scoring threat that Lewis is so defenses know if Ball’s in the pick-and-roll he’s likely looking to make plays.

With Lewis, the Pelicans will have a guard who’s great at attacking the basket with downhill speed and has an impressive array of tricks that includes floaters, step-backs, and pull-ups. Put that scoring ability in a pick-and-roll combo with Zion Williamson for example and defenses won’t know who to emphasize defending.

Now some fans think this hurts Lonzo Ball if he’ll still be on the roster, but it might not. Adding Kira to the lineup could actually help Lonzo by letting him improve as an off-ball player. This flexibility could help Lonzo to be a better shooter from deep. In fact, Van Gundy might even think about running some dual point guard pick-and-rolls that his former assistant coach Steve Clifford ran with Kemba Walker and Jeremy Lin in Charlotte.

So, you’re still not buying Lewis’ potential? Not sold on playing him on the ball with Lonzo Ball on the roster? Well, consider this.