New Orleans Pelicans: 3 what-ifs from the 2020 NBA Draft
The New Orleans Pelicans took Kira Lewis Jr. with the 13 pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, a decision they might alter if they had to do it again.
It’s far too early to call Kira Lewis Jr. a bust, as he had to miss almost all of last season with an injury just as he was starting to look comfortable.
He’s still only 21-years-old, but the clock is ticking, as the Pelicans have a big decision looming on his option for the 2023-24 season.
While it’s way too early to give up on Lewis Jr. entirely, it’s fair to look back and think about what might have been had the Pelicans gone a different direction, as the 2020 NBA Draft was strong from top to bottom and there were guys picked after Lewis Jr. who have had better careers thus far and might be better fits with their current roster.
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But just because Kira hasn’t made the impact some others have doesn’t mean he was the wrong choice, or that the New Orleans Pelicans haven’t benefitted in some way from taking him.
New Orleans Pelicans: What-ifs from the 2020 NBA Draft
What if the Pelicans had drafted Saddiq Bey?
Bey made the All-Rookie first team and backed it up with another good season in year two, starting every game for the Detroit Pistons, one of the few players in the league to do so.
Bey was my guy for the Pelicans back in 2020 and I wrote about five articles promoting his strengths and how he would fit the Pels.
They passed on him and Bey fell to 19th, which definitely wouldn’t happen again in a re-draft. Bey is the type of 3-and-D wing the Pelicans desperately needed at the time, as they lacked shooting and size on the wing.
While Bey would have been a nice get for the Pelicans, I am not sure anything would have changed over the last two years had they drafted him, and it may have prevented them from taking Herbert Jones or Trey Murphy III, two players who might have higher ceilings and are good fits with Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram.
Bey would have been a good fit too, but in the end things worked out for New Orleans even though they missed on this one.