NBA Draft 2019: 5 targets for the Atlanta Hawks

1. DeAndre Hunter

The Hawks would probably love if Jarrett Culver were to somehow slide to them at No. 8 but it seems far more likely that Hunter is the best player on the board when their first selection comes up. Hunter is a strong defender with the size and strength to handle both 3s and 4s, although his specialty is simply making things difficult for an opponent and he doesn’t necessarily generate a lot of steals and blocks.

On offense, he can move the ball but doesn’t look like he has much of a future as an on-ball creator at the next level, although he may be someone he can take advantage of some mismatches with either size or strength, depending on what cross-matching his defensive versatility allows. Hunter’s most reliable offensive tool right now is his jumper. He hit 41.9 percent of his 160 3-point attempts in two season at Virginia and is a very good free throw shooter as well. At worst, he’s a spot-up threat who can hold his own on defense and fit in a variety of lineups.

Hunter’s ceiling is probably not as high as Culver, or even some of the players below him on this list, but his floor may be the highest. The archetype he fits is something the Hawks simply can’t have too much of as they build an offense around Trae Young’s strengths and a defense that needs to overcome his weaknesses.