Welcome Kira Lewis {merged}

[Pelicanidae]

I don't see anything wrong with Kira's release

It's sometimes a touch low, but it's not really the release itself that is the issue. It's just establishing consistency with things like footwork and follow through which can come and go depending on the player, and often make the difference between a good shooter and a great shooter. Kira is a good shooter right now, and he has the potential to be great, and I hope he puts in the grind to get there. There's nothing that I've seen that makes me doubt that he will. He seems like a hard worker.

[HornetGuru]

Yeah they're quite similar, Kira is an inch taller

Really? When I checked their draft profiles both were listed at 6?3? 175lbs. Regardless yeah they both seem very similar to me.

[wuggie]

So is Lonzo L? Haha

lol True, as Lonzo better stop the kid before he starts killing, and takes his minutes. The more I look into the guy I realize we really might've gotten the steal of the draft. He's right in the same tier as Collison, Dennis Schroeder, Dennis Smith and to some degree Ja Morant. Give a few years, his work ethic and learning during games, I can see him being one of them easily (maybe Ja Light at best)which would be better than Lonzo. Hoping for the best, but I think we really got a good one in Kira.

[AusPel]

Really? When I checked their draft profiles both were listed at 6?3? 175lbs. Regardless yeah they both seem very similar to me.

Hmm I thought when I checked Fox was 6'2 but he seems 6'3 actually

[pelafanatic]

How would we feel about Kira getting regular minutes if it means NAW falls entirely out of the rotation?

[Snarly]

How would we feel about Kira getting regular minutes if it means NAW falls entirely out of the rotation?

Why does that need to happen for Lewis to be in the rotation? NAW is a combo guard. He should have opportunities to get in the game regardless of Lewis minutes.

[Pelicanidae]

How would we feel about Kira getting regular minutes if it means NAW falls entirely out of the rotation?

That shouldn't have to happen.

If it did though, and someone put a gun to my head and decided that I had to only pick or die, then I'd pick Kira. He's younger, I think more physically gifted (even if his frame is smaller) and I think has the higher ceiling as well.

[pelafanatic]

To be clear, I don't want that to happen either. I just wanted to get a feel for whether the board would melt down. The only way I could see that happening, though, is if Kira is way further along than expected in his development and someone like Wenyen Gabriel earns unexpected minutes at the wing.

[msusousaphone]

How would we feel about Kira getting regular minutes if it means NAW falls entirely out of the rotation?

I feel like we're going to see another level from NAW, this year. On paper, he fits into SVG's past systems very well.

On paper.

[wuggie]

I feel like we're going to see another level from NAW, this year. On paper, he fits into SVG's past systems very well.

On paper.

Hoping so, as the shot looks great. There's another one where he plays 4 on 4 as well.

[AUSSIE_PELICAN]

I feel like we're going to see another level from NAW, this year. On paper, he fits into SVG's past systems very well.

On paper.

He just needs to play and not overthink everything by trying to do the wow things all the time.

[Biasvasospasm]

I feel like I am more irrationally high on NAW than any player on this roster, but even if it isn’t in here, I think he ends up being a really quality NBA player. I think his combination of size, skill, effort, and knowing how to play EXCEPT for as an on-ball player make him a good bet to stick around the league for 12 years. If he can fit better within his limitations when he does have the ball and adds strength, I think he is an excellent rotation guard.

[wuggie]

I feel like I am more irrationally high on NAW than any player on this roster, but even if it isn’t in here, I think he ends up being a really quality NBA player. I think his combination of size, skill, effort, and knowing how to play EXCEPT for as an on-ball player make him a good bet to stick around the league for 12 years. If he can fit better within his limitations when he does have the ball and adds strength, I think he is an excellent rotation guard.

He's so fun to watch play. I think I remember Jrue saying he's his favorite player to watch. What I just realized is that his frame, his playing style is super similar (even his shot or at least on 2k lol)to Jamal Crawford's. I could see him being a Crawford type player minus the crazy handles. I really hope he gets it together, because man he's fun to watch.

[AusPel]

I feel like I am more irrationally high on NAW than any player on this roster, but even if it isn’t in here, I think he ends up being a really quality NBA player. I think his combination of size, skill, effort, and knowing how to play EXCEPT for as an on-ball player make him a good bet to stick around the league for 12 years. If he can fit better within his limitations when he does have the ball and adds strength, I think he is an excellent rotation guard.

I'm very high on NAW too

[Pelicanidae]

https://www.nola.com/sports/pelicans...cab5d1990.html

Cory Underwood, who coached Lewis on the AAU circuit and worked with him one-on-one, took note and cut up clips of one of the NBA’s most creative finishers, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander of the Oklahoma City Thunder, to send to him.

“I was telling him, ‘Hey man, you’ve got to be unpredictable at the rim,’” Underwood said. “We really dove into inside hand layups. Using the rim as the defender. He went from getting his shot blocked two, three times a game to, I remember from January on, I can’t remember a time he got his shot blocked. He’s a sponge. He’s really a sponge.”

“He’s a student of the game,” Underwood said. “That’s why he’s going to find a way to succeed in the NBA somehow, someway. He’s been doing things like that since he was young. A lot of guys now, you’ll find NBA guys. The Anthony Edwards thing was a big thing. He said he doesn’t watch basketball. A lot of kids don’t watch basketball. Kira Lewis watches basketball.”

[AusPel]

Hoping so, as the shot looks great. There's another one where he plays 4 on 4 as well.

I feel like NAW's greatest flaw is decision making based. Seemed always be rushed, either because that's what rookies do trying to acclimate themselves, or because Gentry gave him such a short leash in which to prove himself. Probably an amalgamation of the two.

The game is going to slow down for him, there's just no way it won't. All the tools are there already there to be a really effective guard. His improvement will come largely by refinement, which is so much easier to chart than to fundamentally change the way you play, a la what Lonzo has to do to become great.

[hornetzplaya]

Question, have we even signed Kira to his contract yet? If so, what are the details?

[AusPel]

Question, have we even signed Kira to his contract yet? If so, what are the details?

Not officially signed yet

$3,033,500 is the rookie scale salary for the 13th pick in 2020-2021. We can pay him 80-120% of that figure. I'm guessing his cap hold ($3,640,200) is 120% of that figure without crunching the numbers, so we could pay him the whole 120% without going into tax.

I'm not sure what the deal with years or raises y/y is in terms of Kira specifically. This is as good a guide as any https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/info/rookie_scale

Not sure why there's a hold up, but plenty of 1st round guys haven't been signed yet, including Edwards.

Cap gurus, please call me out if any of this is incorrect, I'm not quite sure how to interpret this next bit:

Cap holds represent "placeholders" for pending free agents, unsigned draft picks, offer sheets, etc... Since the Pelicans are currently over the league salary cap, these cap holds do not count against their Total Cap figure. Denouncing these cap holds will NOT afford the team any new cap space. These figures are not counted toward a team's Luxury Tax Allocation.

Maybe it means cap holds don't count towards Luxury Tax until said cap hold is crystalised into an actual contract.

[hornetzplaya]

Not officially signed yet

$3,033,500 is the rookie scale salary for the 13th pick in 2020-2021. We can pay him 80-120% of that figure. I'm guessing his cap hold ($3,640,200) is 120% of that figure without crunching the numbers, so we could pay him the whole 120% without going into tax.

I'm not sure what the deal with years or raises y/y is in terms of Kira specifically. This is as good a guide as any https://basketball.realgm.com/nba/info/rookie_scale

Not sure why there's a hold up, but plenty of 1st round guys haven't been signed yet, including Edwards.

Cap gurus, please call me out if any of this is incorrect, I'm not quite sure how to interpret this next bit:



Maybe it means cap holds don't count towards Luxury Tax until said cap hold is crystalised into an actual contract.

That's a good overview and I appreciate your analysis. But yeah I was wondering last night if we even signed him yet. Also wouldn't us signing him make us go into the Luxury tax? But I'm with you, I'm just waiting for more details.

[pelafanatic]

Hoping so, as the shot looks great. There's another one where he plays 4 on 4 as well.

Dinwiddie is a great player for NAW to workout with. Smart dude who gets by without elite athleticism. This video looks like it confirms what I?ve heard of NAW growing about 2 inches since the season. Looks to be about 2 inches taller than Dinwiddie here, who is a legit 6?5

[KPop1]

Man, I am sure there were a few well thought out takes in this rambling, run-on sentence; but I could not read but two lines of this. Try using periods, commas, semi-colons, colons.

Thanks

[AusPel]

Man, I am sure there were a few well thought out takes in this rambling, run-on sentence; but I could not read but two lines of this. Try using periods, commas, semi-colons, colons.

Thanks

[AusPel]

That's a good overview and I appreciate your analysis. But yeah I was wondering last night if we even signed him yet. Also wouldn't us signing him make us go into the Luxury tax? But I'm with you, I'm just waiting for more details.

Nah it won't. Still have $4,084,445 to the tax line. Kira's max is $3,640,200, so we'll romp it in.

Can say this with certainty because we know the salaries of the other 13 guys signed (Thornwell and Gabriel could still fluctuate by a few thousand at most).

Still waiting for news of his signature

[KPop1]

Also not listening to ad for so long got us what lol left so yeah If Zion loves playing with Lonzo you keep him because you want your players happy especially if it makes sense lonzo can be the shooter that?s not just a liability because he?s an initiator and defender and a god rebounder literally the only guy that?ll be on the court that doesn?t just attract the rim that?s not that bad especially being that?s something he can adjust

AusPel, I was talking about this.

[luckyman]

AusPel, I was talking about this.

You'd be better off not even trying to understand any of that. Not worth the headache.