What Will De'Andre Hunter's Future Be With The Hawks?

Will De'Andre Hunter still be on the Atlanta Hawks when next season starts?

Apr 17, 2024; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan (11) defends Atlanta Hawks / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

The Atlanta Hawks are going to be one of the teams that are front and center this offseason and that was true even before they won the 2024 NBA Draft Lottery. The Hawks have a of questions about the future of their backcourt of Trae Young and Dejounte Murray, what will they do with the No. 1 pick, and what happens to other players such as Clint Capela? This summer is going to be a chance for the Hawks to improve their roster one way or the other, but there seems to be a forgotten player in all of this and that would be De'Andre Hunter.

Hunter is a player that a lot of people have different opinions on. He has been injured consistently throughout his career and has not become the two-way star that the Hawks hoped he would be when they trade up to the No. 4 spot to draft him in 2019. He was supposed to be a future cornerstone for the franchise alongside Trae Young, but has not quite lived up to that, with injuries being a main cause. That does not mean that Hunter is a bad player though.

Because of the Hawks poor roster construction since drafting Young, Hunter has had to be relied upon as the only above average wing defender with athleticism and size. While he might not be the best player on the Hawks, you could have made the argument that he was one of the most important players on the team, aside from Young. Hunter ws the only guy who could defend players such as Jayson Tatum or Luka Doncic and because he was injured quite often, the Hawks defense suffered whenever he was not on the court. He has also been an inconsistent offensive player in his career, though this was his best offensive season as a pro. Hunter set career highs in points per game and in three-point field goal percentage and a lot of it was while he was coming off the bench after he returned from his injury. He had a very disappointing game against the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Play-In Tournament, scoring eight points on 3-16 shooting in 42 minutes, but he improved in a lot of ways this season and should not be remembered for just that game.

Dre in Year 5:

15.6 PPG (Career High)
38.5% 3PT (Career High)
45.9% FG pic.twitter.com/9RzAs0BxBx

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) May 15, 2024

Last offseason, Hunter had been in trade rumors, with teams like the Pacers and Pistons being interested according to Yahoo Sports Jake Fischer. Other teams such as the Bucks and the Cavs. With seemingly every player on the team being in trade rumors this offseason, Hunter has not really been among them. Is it because of his huge extension? Is it because of his injury history? Probably both, but as of right now, it does not seem like most teams are interested in acquiring Hunter. That begs the question of what will the Hawks do with him going forward.

I stated his importance to the team earlier because of his defense, but he should not be relied upon as a team's best and only real defender. Atlanta's No. 1 job this offseason should be acquiring more help on defense and trying to build around Trae Young (assuming they don't trade him). Will that mean that Hunter remains in the starting five? That is uncertain. If the Hawks were to take Alex Sarr, would they start him, Onyeka Okongwu, and Jalen Johnson together, pushing Hunter back to the bench? That is possible and that would give Atlanta good depth. Hunter has strong qualities as a player and he really shined whenever the Hawks had to bring him off the bench this season. He scored 27 points in 19 minutes vs the Clippers in one game this season when he came off the bench and that might be his best role going forward.

If the Hawks take Sarr and trade Dejounte Murray, it could mean that Hunter would be part of a bench unit with Bogdan Bogdanovic, though Bogdanovic might need to start and make sure the Hawks have enough offense and shooting off the floor. Would Hunter like coming off the bench? That is another layer to him going forward.

I think Hunter is a good player and one that would be useful to a team as long as he is not asked to do too much. He showed with the way the Hawks roster was constructed that he can't be relied on as the best two-way player on a team, but he showed he can be a good defender and a good three-point shooter. If he could add more to his offensive game such as being able to back down smaller defenders and driving to the basket, he could take big leaps as a player. Analysts have beens saying that for the last couple of years though and it has not happened. I don't think the Hawks should trade Hunter, unless it was in a trade that would be really beneficial to the Hawks. He might be a bit overapaid, but he brings a lot of good qualities to Atlanta and would be a really nice bench player.