The Atlanta Hawks took another big step forward with an excellent NBA Draft night
With the No. 4 and 10 pick, the Atlanta Hawks were able to come away with De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish in the 2019 NBA Draft.
Atlanta acquired the 4th pick just ahead of the NBA Draft by trading the 8th pick, 17th, 35th, 57th, a future first-rounder, and second-rounder to the New Orleans Pelicans. They also had to absorb Solomon Hill‘s expiring contract.
The Hawks have one of the best GM in the NBA in Travis Schlenk. He is definitely a visionary. Before working at the Hawks, he learned from the best in the Golden State Warriors. While on the Hawks he has been able to draft Trae Young.
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As for the Hawks’ 2019 NBA draft picks, Reddish and Hunter were sleepers in this year’s draft and will good NBA players for the young Hawks team.
Reddish did not have an optimal first season with the Duke Blue devils. However, he has the potential to be a good NBA player. Reddish and the 2019 Duke team are the only second team in NBA history to have three players drafted in the top 10 in the NBA draft. The other team was the 2007 Flordia team that had Al Horford, Corey Brewer, and Joakim Noah. All three players turned out to be solid NBA players.
As for Hunter, his playing still lends him to less attention from the media. Hunter’s growth as a high school and college player has been impressive. With Hunter and Reddish, the Hawks have two solid two-way wing players. Both players could potentially be all-stars in the future and, at a minimum, great role players for the Hawks.
Hunter was the 2019 NCAA Tournament version of Kawhi Leonard. His poise and demander is very similar to Leonard’s as well. Hunter broke his wrist in the 2018 ACC tournament. However, in the 2019 NCAA tournament, he made a furious comeback and helped Virginia win its 1st NCAA championship. Hunter in the NCAA Championship dropped 27 points, 22 of which that came in the second half. As for player comparisons, Hunter is most similar to current NBA player Jae Crowder. However, he could end up being as good as Kawhi Leonard.
As for player comparisons for Reddish, he is similar to Harrison Barnes. However, he could end up being as good as Andrew Wiggins.
With these two picks, the Hawks have the best young team in basketball. The Hawks have five good players under 21 years of age that could be all-stars in the future: Hunter, Reddish, Young, John Collins, and Kevin Huerter.
The Atlanta Hawks are an exciting team to watch in the future.