2019 NBA Draft Retrospective: Did the Hawks Make the Right Pick With DeAndre Hunter?

After playing five seasons with Atlanta, Hunter was traded before the 2024-25 trade deadline - did the Hawks make the right decision selecting him at No. 4 in the 2019 draft?

Rohan Raman | Feb 17, 2025

Mar 13, 2024; Portland, Oregon, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward De'Andre Hunter (12) dribbles the basketball during the second half against Portland Trail Blazers center Deandre Ayton (2) at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

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Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks made a significant move this deadline by sending De'Andre Hunter to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, two second-round picks and two pick swaps, per ESPN's Shams Charania.

By practically every metric, Hunter was having his best season to date. At the time of the trade, he was averaging 19 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.5 assists on 46.1/39.3/85.8 shooting splits to pair with great defense on the wing and consistent offense off the bench. He is a real contender for Sixth Man of the Year and was a bright spot in an up-and-down year for the Hawks.

However, Hunter's strong season this year definitely came as a surprise considering the inconsistencies and injuries that defined most of his Atlanta tenure. As a rookie, he played in 63 games and slotted into being a solid scorer while suffering through growing pains on defense. Unfortunately, his next two seasons were marred by injuries that severely hampered his ability to be a two-way contributor. In the 2022-23 season, he remained relatively healthy, but struggled to play within his role. His limitations as a ball-handler and lack of playmaking showed up on offense as he grew into a very solid help defender. His 2023-24 season really represented a turning point. In the second half, he began to come off the bench for the Hawks and finally began to showcase the 1v1 defensive abilities that made him a top-five pick out of Virginia. He also found some consistency as a three-point shooter, shooting 38.5% on 5.3 attempts from deep per game.

By now, it seems that Hunter has developed into a solid 3&D wing who offers complementary scoring and a solid floor as a 1-on-1 defender. However, it's worth looking back on the 2019 Draft to see what other options were avaliable to the Hawks. As a reminder, the Hawks traded for the No. 4 pick from the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for the No. 8 pick (Jaxson Hayes), the No. 17 pick (Nickeil Alexander-Walker) and a 2019 second-round pick (Didi Louzada).

I think the Hawks did well in the trade-up since they got the best player in the deal. Hunter is much better than Hayes while Alexander-Walker has developed into a solid role player for the Timberwolves. However, Hunter's ability to score at a higher volume with roughly the same efficiency makes him the more valuable player in this deal.

When they took Hunter, the Hawks passed up on selecting point guard Darius Garland out of Vanderbilt. It is true that Garland has turned into a much better player than Hunter. He's a 2x All-Star and he's been critical to the Cavaliers' success this year, averaging 21.6 points and 6.7 assists on 49.8/43.1/87.5 shooting splits. However, a Trae Young-Darius Garland backcourt would have gotten absolutely torched on defense and both are point guards. The fit would have been very difficult to manage.

The Hawks deserve some credit for not selecting Jarrett Culver out of Texas Tech. Culver garnered a high-end pro comparison to Jimmy Butler for being a good pull-up shooter and good defensive starter. He did not reach those expectations and only played two seasons in Minnesota before being shipped to Memphis and, coincidentally, Atlanta. He is currently with the Magic's G League affiliate.

However, I don't think the Hawks missed out on anyone by selecting Hunter. Tyler Herro, who was selected with the 16th overall pick was never going to be selecting with a top-five pick. Garland is the more talented pick, but did not fit with Young. They avoided drafting Culver and never had a chance at the top two of Zion Williamson and Ja Morant.

The bigger misstep that Atlanta had was with the 10th overall pick. They got this pick in the Luka Doncic trade and used it to select Cam Reddish out of Duke. The 6'7 wing profiled as having plenty of great athletic tools as a defender and being a solid complementary ball-handler. However, his finishing and shooting left a lot to be desired. He did not develop into the player Atlanta envisioned when they used a top-10 pick on him, but the Reddish selection is tougher to swallow considering Cam Johnson went one pick after. After being selected by the Phoenix Suns, Johnson has turned into an excellent 3&D forward who can shoot on high volume and provide solid defense. He instantly showed flashes of being a good shooter from his rookie year and progressed into an important part of the Suns' run to the 2021 NBA Finals before being traded to Brooklyn in the Kevin Durant.

Atlanta definitely had the right idea with selecting two wings, but it could have looked a lot better if they took Johnson and Hunter instead of Reddish and Hunter.

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