As we creep closer to opening night of the 2022-23 NBA season we are finally starting to envision what the new version of the Atlanta Hawks is going to look like.
All-NBA and All-Star guards Trae Young and Dejounte Murray will be the driving force of this team, and John Collins will move into a more complimentary role as it is beginning to seem like he will not be traded.
However, there is another guy who will really be an X-factor on just how much success this Atlanta Hawks team will have, and that guy is De’Andre Hunter.
While Hunter’s talent on the defensive end has never been in doubt since he came out of Virginia, his durability and offensive prowess have been inconsistent. At times Hunter looks like one of the best young two-way players in the league like he did in the final game he played in last year.
In Game 5 of the first round of the NBA playoffs last year Hunter flashed his full potential with a game-high 35 points, three steals, 11 rebounds, 10 made free throws (out of 11 attempts), three 3-pointers made (out of seven attempts), and 11 field goals made (out of 21 attempts). Hunter was definitely the best player for the Hawks that night, and he also may have been the best player on the court as well.
However, while there were nights where the three-year veteran out of Virginia was great, there were also nights when he struggled. Last season out of the 53 games Hunter played in there were 10 games where he scored fewer than 10 points while playing at least 20 minutes. Now, through an 82-game season everyone is going to have bad nights, but those are the type of games Hunter has to eliminate if he is going to take the next step. Consistency and durability are the keys to Hunter having a monster season.
Speaking of durability, that’s the other big thing Hunter has struggled with during his young NBA career as well. Hunter has never played 70 games in a season in his career. Hunter played 63 games in his rookie year, only 23 games in his sophomore season, and 53 games last year. Hunter is a great two-way player for the Hawks when he’s on the floor, but he just hasn’t been on the floor that much.
Chris Goforth believes Hunter could be the difference between a good 2022-23 Hawks campaign and a great one.
“This is a playoff team right now," Goforth said. "But I think De’Andre Hunter is the difference between say being the fifth seed and being the third seed, because I think if he turns into who he can be then I think you’re talking about a top three team in the Eastern Conference.”
Related
Hunter is also headed into his first contract year, and consistency and durability are the only two things that could get in the way of a big pay day for him.
“He’s got to be ready," said Hawks beat reporter Pat Benson Jr. "It’s now or never because right now they’re negotiating his rookie-scale contract extension, and last we heard that the two sides are pretty far apart still. So now if they don’t come to an agreement he’s going to heads toward restricted free agency like John Collins did a couple years back, and it’ll be a contract year for De’Andre Hunter.
"So it’s now or never, got to stay healthy, got to stay on the court, and we know he’s got the intangibles, we’ve seen him improve throughout his time in Atlanta. The organization bet on Hunter when they traded Cam Reddish, we know how much they value him, so it’s now or never for De’Andre Hunter and I believe he does take that next step this upcoming season.”
It is not only important to the Hawks that Hunter has a breakout year as they try to bounce back from a first-round playoff exit, but it is also important for Hunter to have a breakout year because he’s on his first contract year. This might be his best opportunity to get the biggest contract he will ever see in his NBA career.
