With the 2022-23 NBA season fewer than 48 hours from tipping off, the Atlanta Hawks and De’Andre Hunter have agreed to a four-year, $95 million contract extension. The new deal will begin during the 2023-24 season to keep Hunter from becoming a restricted free agent next summer.
Originally drafted with the fourth-overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, the Hawks acquired the former University of Virginia star through a series of trades and signed the former All-American to a multi-year contract just days after the draft.
Alongside PG Trae Young, F John Collins, and offseason addition G Dejounte Murray, the new deal is an indication that new Hawks GM Landry Fields is locked in on the 6-foot-7 Hunter and is committed to making the 24 year old a key piece to a Hawks squad that is looking to return to the success of the 2020-21 season when the team reached the Eastern Conference Finals.
In 53 games for Atlanta last season, Hunter finished with an average of 13.4 points and shot a career-best 37.9% from beyond the arc. Despite being knocked out by the Miami Heat in the first-round of the 2022 playoffs, Hunter really made his presence known with an average of 21.2 points on 56% shooting from the field and an impressive 46% on 3-pointers. He added to his resume with a 35-point performance in Game 5 of the series, becoming only the third Hawks player with 35 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game in the last 50 years.
Along with his offensive abilities and improved three-point shooting, Hunter is going to be tasked with being possibly the best outside defender for the Hawks. With Hunter and Murray on the wings, Collins and Clint Capela patrolling the paint and Young roaming the perimeter, coach Nate McMillan looks to improve on the teams 26th-rated defense from last season.
The deal also means that the team has four members of the starting five – Young, Hunter, Collins and Capela – signed on for the next three seasons, with Murray inked through 2024.