2018 NBA Mock Draft: What do playoff teams need?

We’ve seen Milwaukee experiment with enough centers at this point — from John Henson to Miles Plumlee to Tyler Zeller — that they’ve made it abundantly clear the best option for their team is to put Giannis Antetokounmpo at center and put shooters around him. He is good enough on offense and defense that he can anchor the team and make up for their deficiencies as the biggest guy on the court much better than he can playing a LeBron James-type point forward role.

As ACCSports.com notes, Wendell Carter was the last real holdout in terms of declaring for the 2018 draft by the NBA’s April 22 deadline. Hunter is now one of the only players yet undeclared, and as he recuperates from a March wrist surgery, it seems unlikely he enters at this point. Virginia notably has some unfinished business. But as he has not formally been taken out of the running, we will consider him draftable.

Long, versatile, two-way players like Malcolm Brogdon and Khris Middleton have had tremendous success next to Antetokounmpo, and adding Hunter to that group could put it over the top. He can defend 3-5, shoot and finish with athleticism, and plays smart basketball. Assuming Milwaukee’s next coach makes better use of personnel, Hunter could be a vital piece quickly.