Draft Profile: De’Andre Hunter

As we count down to the 2019 NBA Draft, the staff here at Cavs: The Blog will be taking a look at the players who could be available to the Cleveland Cavaliers with either of their first-round picks. Today, we take a look at Virginia forward and National Champion, De’Andre Hunter. 

Background Information

• Name: De’Andre James Hunter
• Height: 6’8″
• Weight: 227
• College: After red-shirting his freshmen season to work on his game, Hunter played two seasons at the University of Virginia.
• Accolades: 2019 National Champion, 2019 NABC Defensive Player of the Year, 2019 NABC Second-Team All-American, 2019 Sporting News, Associated Press, and USBWA Third-Team All-American, 2019 First-Team All-ACC, 2019 ACC Defensive Player of the Year, 2018, ACC Sixth Man of the Year, 2018 ACC All-Freshman Team
• Background: Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 2, 1997he son of Priscilla and the late Aaron Hunter Sr., he also has an older brother, Aaron Jr., and two sisters, Candice and Cheyanne. Attended Friends’ Central High School in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, where he was the 2016 Class AA Player of the Year.

Strengths

Hunter’s strengths start with his defense and physicality. Possessing an excellent build for an NBA wing, similar in size to big NBA wings such as OG Anunoby, Rudy Gay, and Wilson Chandler, he uses his length and strength to do an great job of both containing perimeter players off the dribble and switching on to big men. This versatility is extremely useful in today’s NBA, where players who can switch and guard multiple defenders are valued more than ever. Hunter does an excellent job of contesting shots without fouling, and averaged just two personal fouls per game this season. He is also a very good team and help defender and doesn’t lose his focus when defending off ball. Hunter is also solid on the glass for a wing, averaging just over five rebounds per game.

Efficiency is the name of the game when it comes to Hunter’s offense. Last season, he posted and extremely impressive true shooting percentage of 61.8% while shooting 43.8% from three and 78.3% from the line. This is especially impressive considering Hunter averaged over 10 field goal attempts per game. Hunter is very good at using his strength and size to finish at the rim, and can shoot both off the catch and off the dribble. While he didn’t usually initiate the offense or create for others off the dribble during his time at Virginia, Hunter is a solid passer within a team’s offense and typically makes the right reads in the flow of the game.

Hunter plays with a high motor and was considered a good teammate during his time at Virginia. He has shown a willingness to sacrifice his own statistics in favor of team success.

Weaknesses

Hunter is one of those players who is good at most things but not really elite at anything. His biggest flaw on offense seems to be the lack of the kind of handle star perimeter players are known for. While he can attack the basket off the dribble, he mostly operates in straight drives and doesn’t have much of a drive-and-kick game. His lack of ability to create for himself or others is concerning for a perimeter player, let alone one who is a high draft pick. While he has shot well from deep during his time at Virginia, it was on just 160 attempts over two seasons.

While many would fairly point to Hunter’s defense as his elite skill, there are concerns on that end. While there is no doubt that he is a very good defender, Hunter did have some struggles with containing elite athletes off the dribble. Even more concerning, he averaged just 0.6 blocks per game to go with the some number of steals. While individual defensive statistics can be overrated, high steal and block rates tend to be a solid predictor of a prospect’s NBA success. While some of this can be attributed to Virginia coach Tony Bennett‘s pack-line defense, it does raise some flags about Hunter’s future. The fact that he is already 21 years old, far older than the likes of Zion Williamson, Jarrett Culver, and R.J. Barrett is also a strike against Hunter as a prospect.

Thoughts

A lot of mock drafts have projected Hunter going to the Cavaliers with the fifth pick in this June’s draft, and with good reason. Hunter is an impressive physical specimen who plays the game the right way. He has a solid motor and has a reputation for being a good teammate. Those intangibles, along with his two-way play seem to fit with the kind of player the Cavaliers would be interested in. For those who have a risk-averse nature, Hunter would seem like an appealing pick. It’s hard to see him not being at least a solid rotation player at the next level.

That being said, the Cavaliers are probably hoping for more than “solid rotation player” with the fifth pick in the draft. Maybe they shouldn’t be, but Dan Gilbert, Koby Altman and company probably want to add the type of player the team could truly build around rather than a complimentary role player. The one thing the Cavaliers lack outside of Kevin Love is a player who looks they could be an All-Star, and while Hunter may become the type of high-level starter that every team covets, there’s still a big difference between that type of player and a star who can carry his team in big moments.

Given Hunter’s age and relatively mediocre (and somewhat concerning) individual statistics, it’s difficult to see him as the kind of player with the upside to become the kind of star teams want near the top of the draft. Still, there are exceptions to every rule, and if the Cavaliers see that potential in him, then it wouldn’t be a surprise to hear his name called with the fifth overall pick on draft night.