It’s a wings league.
Each and every team in the NBA covets the apex wing, the tweener forward of their dreams.
Speed, power, and balance optimize in wings with size, creating the predators that dominate the league. It’s no wonder they’re so desired.
The Grizzlies have searched for that perfect piece to fit alongside Bane, Morant, and Jackson Jr., the fourth high level starter to round out a core fighting growing pains on the quest to win it all.
They’ve taken those swings on a variety of versatile players, with varying strengths and weaknesses. Maxwell Lewis could be another, a productive shooter with size and defensive potential. Lewis may not have the upside of someone like Ziaire Williams, who has a similar theoretical skill set, but he might possess a few of the best traits to match up with a team that’s already decided who has the ball.
Let’s take a deep dive into Maxwell Lewis, and what he could bring to Memphis.
Upside
A sophomore from Pepperdine, Lewis stands at 6’7”, with a wingspan of 6’11” and a skinny frame that could use some weight. He projects as an elite offball shooting threat and plus defender.
Lewis is one of those guys that thrives off the catch. Whether he lets it rip, 44% on Catch-and-shoot attempts, or attacks closeouts, 71st percentile on rim finishes, there’s no denying that his shotmaking is money.
It’s not just his wingspan, or his athleticism, or his size that helps him make shots against a variety of competition. It’s his craftiness and fluidity, reminiscent of another Santa Clara teammate of his, Jalen Williams. They share that smooth decisiveness, a multi-year vet’s mastery in the body of a college kid that understands how to manufacture a take to the basket. He has no troubles wheeling out of a drive into a midrange shot, where his frame and touch give him an advantage.
Lewis projects as a plus shooter, moderate athlete, and potential plus defender.
Downside
Most of what Lewis does well starts to fall apart with the ball in his hands. Lewis had to step up his second year into a new role, and it harmed his overall statistics and shooting splits, even if the numbers remained consistent off the catch.
There’s no denying that Lewis is raw, and it obscures his true potential. Could he be a PnR ball handler? A play maker with shot creation, more than shot making? While he flashes some isolation scoring, it’s clear that there’s much left to be desired.
With an AST/TO (Assist to Turnover ratio) of 0.8, Lewis showed poor decision making and shot selection at times. It was a struggle to tag rollers, and he had a tendency to pull up from behind the arc when unable to beat his man.
It’s the general troubles of these apex forwards, seeking to become the predator. They can’t get to their spots with a loose handle. They struggle with passing touch off of live dribbles. Their general decision making, whether to shoot, drive, pass, or some combination, needs work. These issues plague the players built for optimal speed, power, and balance, hamstringing them from true greatness. Maxwell Lewis is no exception, and fought all of these flaws during his time at Pepperdine.
A note about the defense: projecting as a plus defender usually means they won’t be an NBA-level defender to start their career. If a player has the potential to defend at a high level as a rookie, you’ll know– and it’s more than likely that Maxwell Lewis won’t. Positioning miscues on-ball, lapses off-ball, and a gambling addiction in the passing lanes all point towards a negative defensive impact to start.
This shouldn’t be a downside held too heavily against him. It’s par for the rookie course, and his frame and ability to recover in limited possessions after getting beat holds promise. But it’s a downside, for now, depending on how you look at it.
Maxwell Lewis’s draft position will depend on if teams feel like he has more than just 3nD to his game. That’s a decision someone like Memphis will have to make, especially with a glut of young wings looking for the same breakout.
Fit
There isn’t room for Maxwell Lewis and Ziaire Williams both on this Grizzlies roster, without enough minutes for the lanky forwards with overlapping skill sets. It’s a choice between the two, and one that might be seen if Memphis pulls off a trade that includes the young Williams. But it isn’t an easy choice.
For all the raw flaws that Williams has already shown, he’s also shown a significantly higher upside, particularly as a play maker that could round out the starting five. He makes wraparound passes under the basket and tag rollers with more precision, passes that Lewis struggled with often. He’s a better vertical athlete. And they’re the same age.
Lewis could very well come into the NBA a better catch and shooter, a more productive driver, and a similar midrange talent. Williams has the upside to be even more than a 3nD wing.
That’s the choice Memphis will have to make if Maxwell Lewis is the pick. Do they want to wait for Williams to become more, some time in the future, if at all? Or do they want to take another bite at the low usage apple, a potentially more limited skill set with higher shooting upside?
To lose Williams and draft a less “prestigious” prospect at the end of the first round is surely poor asset management. But poor asset management doesn’t matter when a player who’s more productive, sooner, helps a deep playoff run.
Maxwell Lewis is one of the less likely picks Memphis could make on Thursday, but don’t rule it out. It’s a wings league, and the right pick could take the Grizzlies to new heights.