Atlanta Hawks: De’Andre Hunter 2024 defense, strengths, weaknesses, player capsule, etc. (Part 1)

Atlanta Hawks: De’Andre Hunter 2024 defense, strengths, weaknesses, player capsule, etc. (Part 1)

on today’s show we have Glenn Willis back on the podcast to continue our player capsule series with a look at DeAndre Hunter and more this is part one of two and it’s coming to you right now you are locked on Hawks your daily Atlanta Hawks podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day Hello friends welcome to episode 173 of the L and Hawks podcast I am your host Brad Roland coming to you on a Thursday here in mid June and today’s podcast is brought to you by the folks at game time down the game time app create an account and use promo code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase terms apply I should also encourage you at the top of the podcast as I always do to make us your first listen each and every day please check us out and subscribe to loton Hawks anywhere you might find podcasts that includes apple and Spotify and overcast Etc on the audio side as well as YouTube on the video side and Today’s Show is actually be part one of two with my guy Glenn Willis of P Hoops at29 joining me to continue our annual series diving into the entire roster so if you missed anything previously Glenn and I been talking about the entire roster really since like you know miday early May talking about all kinds of guys on the team we’ve saved a few for later on but today’s podcast we’ll focus on DeAndre Hunter so that’s a interesting topic to be sure and by the way just to put a bow on this a little bit the NBA drive cycle is still raging there’s little bits and pieces of semi inel that are out there I will have a round of of that at a later date but I have been traveling this week I am not in the normal situation where I can record on demand and really nothing’s risen to that level anyway so keep that in mind I recorded with Glenn a few days ago but it’s still very well at this point in time big picture on the hunter will’ll have more coming in the future I can promise you on the draft and we’ll also have a part two with Glenn after this so go ahead and subscribe to the podcast stay tuned for part two when this one’s over and without any further delay here we go with part one I joined once again by my guy Glenn Willis Glenn how are you as we talk about another player everybody loves I’m good yeah uh I can’t wait to dig into everybody’s Hawks fans favorite Atlanta Hawks player ever we’re doing back toback of those uh we were just uh I don’t know if we were arguing but before we started recording we were debating uh whether who has the lower Q rating with the fan base between click capella and yre Hunter I think it’s I think it’s capella but I might be wrong about that I think he he gets him a little bit Yeah so I think I think I he gets a little bit but a good time to go ahead and plug that you and I talked about Clint last time we did one of these uh if you were just finding these this is our player capsule series which Glenn has so graciously would me give me a ton of time to do this year we kind of waved the white flag on getting the entire roster done before the draft because there’s just too much going on this might be the last one we do before the draft I’m not going to commit to that but it might be the last one and we saved a lot of the young guys younger guys for the end uh in case we have to save them for July or August or whatever uh but I definitely wanted to get Clinton DeAndre done because not that they’re definitely going to get traded as we’ll get into during this conversation I think DeAndre Hunter is quite available in trade that doesn’t mean he’s going to be traded but he could be and um I would just say that he is let’s just start here I the whole Travis schlank era I would say DeAndre Hunter as a guy who they dra they traded up for top five pick all that stuff was kind of a you know part of the core core is a flexible term but I would say he was firmly seen as being part of the core uh they gave him an extension a year early all that stuff uh I don’t view Don runter as part of the core anymore is that a safe assessment and we can sort of go from there yeah I think he’s a guy that you look at him and you say is AP from Clint is their most suppored Defender yeah I think so the numbers kind of say that yeah is is that a good situation if you’re trying to be a really really good team no and that’s not a slight at DeAndre but DeAndre should be third or fourth you know and so and you know so for me it’s as much about like what Quinn wants too is like can he kind of fit into what what Quinn wants to do I know we’re going to dig in on both sides of the court but to me I think he’s a guy that if you have him you don’t mind at all like he’s a helpful player and I know a lot of hawks fans may not agree with that but he does things that help you when I talk to people like close to League or in the league that they consistently say he’s very important for what the are trying to do you know and uh and that’s that’s always there um if you can use him to kind of upgrade and because he’s not he’s never going to be an all NBA an all Defense level player that’s not what he is right but he’s a great team Defender help Defender he’s good on ball against guys who don’t have a ton of burst and speed you know and so he so he has a role on a good defense it’s just it’s just that he’s has a bigger role more prominent role in the Hawks because of their their lack of Defense so if they have an opportunity to move him and upgrade at a at a spot better Defender more Dynamic Defender more versatile Defender whatever it is I think they have to explore that and and in that sense if that makes him not firmly part of the core I I think there’s nothing wrong with that view yeah and look there’s this conversation that we probably can stop having at some point and probably now but inevitably for a guy who’s still on the team that drafted him um there’s you I think we all understand now I think you know as a you know I think people slowly got off this train as it was going at some point about like what Hunter can be there were the injuries all that stuff I don’t think that I’ve seen anybody holding out hope that DeAndre Hunter is gonna suddenly become a two-way star like I think that that’s that’s gone to your point and you know he just finished year five he’s 26 years old which is not over the hill but generally speaking that’s you know that’s mid Prime I would say it’s not like he’s post Prime but he’s not like on the way up anymore age- wise you know guys do get better at that age I’m not saying it’s impossible but that’s not usually the track you go on um and there’s still durability issues I won’t give all the numbers but he has not played more than 67 games any season in the NBA um 57 this year he was durable for a while and then he wasn’t and that’s what happens like he’s not you know he’s not been out of the lineup but he’s not a guy who’s playing 75 games a year um I I think and we’ll talk about actually let’s do this now about his defense we can start on that side of the floor I think he’s lost a half stepper a step physically since he came in the league and probably I don’t want to say definitely but you could probably Trace that to the knee issues that he’s had um you know you and I talked about this a lot early in his career they were asking him both by necessity but also by the skill that he could do he he was he was defending a lot of guards early in his career and was doing a better job at that at that stage than I think he can do now and part of that is physical I think I I wonder what you believe about that as far as like he’s not a bad athlete still now but he’s always he’s never been the most explosive guy he’s been he’s kind of boxy um he looks like he’s a you know he’s six he’s 68 220 he’s he’s a really good he’s he’s the kind of picturesque small forward size but he’s never been a Twitchy guy he’s kind of a loadup guy but does that track with you because my eyes tell me he is not quite as explosive or Twitchy athletically as he was let’s just say four or five years ago no I agree with that and you have to think the the soft tissue stuff the lowerer body soft tissue stuff is is a primary thing that’s there and and you’re right he’s not this uh he’s not the Super fluid athlete right he’s he’s athletic but more in a choppy kind of sense and more just like a lot of strength and which he doesn’t always access doesn’t always use yeah right um and stuff like that and so it’s a it’s a thing for me where I look at him and I say you know I don’t really want him depending guards anymore um you know I mean but I mean a guard is not a guard is not a guard right you take a guy who doesn’t have a quick first step you take a guy who’s not you know relying on burst like I don’t want him guarding defending John Morant you know guys like that you know right he used that right exactly maybe even like Devin Booker not the fastest First Step but he still just got a ton of skill and a ton of technique but guy Luka I mean we’ve seen even just the last few days all the stats floating around on Twitter around the job he did there Luca even admits himself he’s not a guy who’s going to beat you with speed and a first step a guy like Shay who’s not relying on really speed and burst and those sorts of things so there’s a category of ball handlers that I don’t mind him being in a game against Oklahoma City you’re a second guy who’s going to take some a couple of shifts on Shay or maybe maybe because Luca really doesn’t have a lot maybe even can be the primary guy on Luca but but every year that list gets small ER you know for me the guys that I’m willing to kind of think of him being a primary secondary defender in that game and what also it kind of adds to that is also every year he’s gotten better and more valuable as a help Defender and A Team Defender and an organizer which I think sets himself up well for the next phase of his career where it’s we’re talking about five years five next fiveyear window or whatever to be able to kind of function in multiple roles and have that uh value off the ball that he has developed I think helps and and so for me I just I think if the Hawks go into next season and he’s like deandre’s the only guy who could do that you know that’s a failure to me today’s show is brought to you by game time and authorized ticket Marketplace of the NBA that makes game time the best place to find your playoff tickets in the NBA and it makes also getting those tickets faster and easier and that’s the case for the finals as well which are coming up right now and I love to be there myself with K last minute deals all in prices views from receipts and the lowest possible price guarantee get is a fantastic option to make things better for you and easy for you to buy the tickets that you’re looking for across the space I’ve been a regular user of the game time app for quite some time now has come in handy for me a number of times with Braves games and Falcons games as well as other shows and concerts in and around Atlanta I gave time to save big money when last tickets for sports concerts comedy theater and more they have Flash Deals we can save and also save even more when you choose a section in the arena or stadium and let get time you choose the seats for you as a result they have an awesome feature as well you can toggle to show the total up front with no Sur prise fees we get to the checkout page and you can take all the guest workk out of buy tickets right now with the folks at the game time app including a panoramic view of the seats that you’re looking for in the app before you buy and you are getting the lowest price possible price possible with the folks at game time download the game time at Crea an account use promo code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase terms apply again create that account redem that promo code locked on NBA for $20 off your first purchase download the game time app today last minute tickets lowest price guaranteed we definitely agree on that and I think that you know organizationally it’s important I’ve say it’s a lot recently but just about other guys but this is not the same front office that drafted DeAndre Hunter this is not the same front office that extended DeAndre Hunter um there’s been lots of reporting on that about how that came to be and I won’t get into that now but that was an unforced error in my opinion um to do that a year ahead of time and I said I said as much then they kind of overpaid and that’s still kind of biting them and um we’ll get into to the very end of the conversation about his contract but it’s not one that people around the league are itching to acquire I would it’s not a disaster it’s not a Ben Simmons contract where it’s like this Albatross but it’s a I think it’s below water um just based on what’s been out there um and that was UN forc a but yeah I think that game plan wise and we’ll talk about this is where SPS defense is concern he’s not the problem but he’s not like an apex solution either and you know part of the theory about drafting him again five years ago now which is a long time um was that he was you know the Hope was that he was going to be better than he probably is that’s kind of where it is um we talked about what he kind of doesn’t do anymore defending guards um but I know you’ve been at the Forefront of this and I’ve mentioned it as well he’s never been a playmaker right that was the knock on him coming out of Colley and people that were skeptical of his profile was that he he’s not a block and steals Guy and that’s still the case he’s it’s very very low block and steel numbers for a guy of his athletic profile he’s not a playmaker defensively um he’s and he’s not a lockdown guy to what just kind of referenced but we’ll talk about a little bit more now is like he’s not the guy that’s just going to take your best player away in most circumstances but he has gotten better in the supporting stuff which is the stuff that people people don’t really care about as much but it does matter e execution wise and there’s this debate that’s still ongoing now I would say about position with DeAndre because in a lot of ways he plays more like a power forward except for he doesn’t rebound like a power forward which is that’s a that’s part of the thing we bring up here um especially as he gets older but have you seen okay this season did did you see that growth continue about like the little stuff on the margins and you you led this conversation by talking about how he and Clint are arguably and I would agree with you probably their two most valued Defenders and what they were trying to do scheme wise that is an indictment but it’s also true in part because of the little stuff that down R has gotten better at even as he’s gotten maybe a little bit worse in the uh more flashy stuff yeah and and I I did think he deserves a ton of credit for getting better in those areas right and I mean you know it’s really really nuanced like you’ll see him on the weak side of the play like he’ll catch a teammate like on a bad matchup and he’ll go down and you scram him out of it or or he’ll see a need to double the ball because the way the offensive spacing is has them so spread out that they can’t Zone the weak side effectively and he’s he calls stuff like that in real time all the time and really no one else does that Clint does that the kind of traditional big man communication anchor right but and JC did a ton of this while he was on the team right and then the Hawks missed all that power forward off ball weak side or JC gave them so much of that when they had him and this last year it was really just DeAndre and and you know we’re gonna we’re gonna do Jaylen at some point but jaylen’s not doing that stuff yet at all right and and that’s where I think a lot of fans don’t realize like how much value there is and someone who is on the weak site sees everything calls a double calls you know the way that they’re going to Zone up like flips you know the high man and the low man on the weak side because the way that the opposing offense is set up and DeAndre is like like spectacular that stuff he for for as much processing issues as we he has on offense which I will talk about it’s really the converse on defense when he’s off the ball like all the processing is so sharp and and so fast and such in such real time and for the Hawks who typically have you know suboptimal defensive lineups on the floor because the construction having someone who is like seeing issues managing issues correcting issues all the time is really really valuable and for that reason I think that if they do kind of look to make a move and get something different in the mix of the position or what have you I think a lot of teams value what he does even if fans don’t value as much as say coaches do or you know some some organizations do yeah and there’s something to be said for and I’m sure I’ll say this again lat in this conversation about a guy who has his physical traits like um I find in my experience I bet you do too people that don’t cover or follow the Hawks and don’t watch the Hawks every game think he’s better than he actually has been in a lot of different ways and that’s the nature of the Beast with former lottery picks that’s always been the case with former lottery picks if they don’t kind of live up but the flash is you know he’s had a couple of good National TV games and they stick in people’s minds and there’s that playoff game we we’ve kind of joked about against Miami where he made a bunch of shots and it was like for two years people are still referenced that on National games they don’t watch the Hawks every game and I get that and the numbers look fine I mean we’ll get that we’ll get into the offense but this a guy who averaged 15 16 points a game this year and did it did it pretty efficiently and if all you know is that you have this guy who’s 68 who’s not a bad Defender because he’s not a bad Defender at all and who can also shoot it that’s the theory of a guy who like it should be an incredibly high demand across the league because everybody wants that player 68 forward who can who can defend and shoot is like you know Kryptonite or in a positive whatever that whatever version is for every team that they want but if you watch him every game like we do um there’s appreciation for the little stuff that we just kind of put out there but there’s also frustration about the other stuff that he isn’t capable of doing like I mentioned the rebounding W better for a second he he’s a really really bad rebounder and he always has been and look you can still be a productive Defender and be a bad rebounder it’s I can name names forever about that um but you know this year he had a 12.9% defensive rebound rate that was worse than basically all the key guys on the roster other than bogy and Trey a 6A guy who’s got physical that should just never be the case and just to get away from this sort of in front of this argument it’s not just in look defensive rebounding stats are a little bit wonky right I think we are ahead of the curve on this to some extent about there are box out guys like Stephen Adams is always the primary example right Stephen Adams not never been a huge numbers guy but if you look at his team defensive rebounding it’s always been incredible it’s not the case with Hunter so like it’s not like you’re faking it um the team gets notably worse on the glass with Hunter on the court and he’s playing a lot with Clint and you know imagine how it would be how bad it would be if you don’t have Clint like you Hunter on Clint off numbers are like comical on the glass and jaylen’s a really good rebounder so it’s not Jaylen so that’s one area that you know if you want to talk about what he can and can’t do I I do think and I know to our mutual friend to Jones said this like the hunters Hunters of four in some ways right that’s not meant to be a drill down but it’s it’s meant to be a I don’t know if he can play the four regularly on this Roster number one they have Jaylen number two you want to have a four that rebounds like if your plan is to play Hunter and a kongu together that’s not going to work on the glass like I think we have evidence of that at this point in time and I think the hunter is still GNA play a lot of three but um how how damaging or how worrying is that because generally speaking rebounding is something that doesn’t get better as you age usually get worse because you lose a little bit of your Twitch as we sort of went off with that so like I’m not even saying this is even a talking because I think this is just a fact he’s not a good rebounder I just don’t know I don’t know what to make of that as far as sort of the the overall context yeah any anyone who’d want to argue the Congress I don’t know what they would be working with in that sense you I’m sure you I I I used to get this like early in his career I would point this out and people would yell at me and be like well this and this and this okay like but now we have five years of sample and he’s never literally never been a good rebounder at in college at the NBA level and look I feel like Center rebounding gets magnified at Wier Clint everybody uh but it’s one of those things where it’s a team building Factor right and a lot of this conversation about the number one pick and all the stuff that’s going on this offseason a lot of it’s about what what the team is trying to build and I’m not saying you can’t build with down Hunter because you can but that’s just something you have to keep in mind of like what a guy can and can’t do and when you when you don’t rebound and honestly I used to be it used to be can’t versus don’t for me because you you don’t want to say that a guy can’t do something early in his career especially when he has physical tools but when you see five years I would just say don’t now like he can’t can’t slash won’t slash don’t like he’s not he’s not gonna rebound any better than this I don’t think maybe he’ll Pro me wrong but just keep that in mind and what do you sort of make of that yeah I I’ll R this in one more time and then promise to stop I mean this is where they missed JC as well because you had Clint plus JC and then Hunter to three you’re generally fine rebounding right and and and so you know you got ba playing spending time with the four J’s a really really good rebounder as you mentioned for his position and so Clint plus Jaylen plus DeAndre defensively I think there’s some functional you know kind of stuff there uh I don’t think that’s what you want your highend 34 five to be kind of throughout the whole game um but Jaylen helps there a little bit too but for me it’s just like number one he’s not a he doesn’t play with a lot of verticality that’s part of rebounding number two he is just kind of ch in the way that he plays his his you know he doesn’t like take long strides he doesn’t cover a lot of space quickly he’s not that kind of fluid and rangy athlete at all I think that’s the stuff that shows up there is there also something that’s an instinctive issue too I mean I don’t know but it looks like it it might be you know that kind of thing too where he just doesn’t have an instinct for the way the ball’s going to carry him off the Ram or hand eye you know coordination and kind of just judging all that s so stuff so so for me I do think you have to kind of count on him being um an a below average rebounder for whatever position he’s playing even at the three I think he’s not you know he’s below average as a rebounder there and you have to kind of you know sort that out so that’s where having a you know a dominant you know rebound at the five position can help but it still creates a lot more work for the center than than is sustainable to have across 82 game schedule I mean Quinn talked about it all year long rebounding is a team responsibility you know um and and when they had issues with that that’s what he would kind of kind of point at but yeah I don’t know why you would ever expect him to be a different rebounder than he’s shown us he is this this far in his career tiue was brought to you by priz picks turned $10 into $1,000 at priz Pi in a single game I’m watching your favorite sports this summer you can make a l of priz picks in just as little as 60 seconds and that is huge if you’re busy like I happen to be all you have to do is pick more pick less than two to six players stat projections and you are locked in from there price America’s number one fantasy sports app with over 5 million active members get on the daily action right now with your friends and become a a part of the prospect Community right now today the finals meet even more prize picks as well in s of the star players you get boosted payouts on select basketball Stars you can’t find anywhere else when the finals are over the Hoops action does not stop at prize pick in fact women’s basketball Stu is ramping up right now including stars like Caitlyn Clark and Angel ree went up to 100 times the cash just watching them ball out priz is the best way to get on the action in more than 30 States across the country including California Texas and Georgia and they had quick withdrawals the prize picks as well download the prize pick app right now today and use code L NBA for first time m match up to $100 Again download the app and use code L MBA when you get there for a firsttime deposit match up to $100 pick more pick less it’s that easy with prize picks and they do and we’re get the offense in a second I promise they do have really strong well I shouldn’t say strong they have respectable defensive num when they’re playing Hunter and Clint or Hunter and Jaylen and Clint like I I won’t go go through all the numbers but um yeah for instance Hunter capella and Jaylen this year because of injuries they only played 27 games together that’s not a ton not a ton it’s in their like top like 50 lineups or whatever of three man lineups third of third of the Season basically but that’s not yeah they played 349 minutes which is not a lot of minutes but that was for I’m not trying to make this about the starting lineup but that was what they started when they were fully healthy that was their starting front Court was Hunter Jay and capella for a better or worse right they were actually good defensively with that group they had a 112 defensive rating now that’s not incredible but that is six seven points better than their than their season long average y now the offense got a lot worse when when which makes sense in my opinion like Hunter and Clint offensively has never really worked together I would say um even with really good supporting stuff around them we’ll say that for a second but just to say this out loud like I think I mentioned it on the on the capella Castle we did they’ve always basically always been pretty good not great but pretty good defensively with Hunter and capella but at the same time I’m not this is not me arguing on behalf of of keeping Hunter and capella I’m not I’m not doing that because there is a ceiling with that there is an offensive ceiling with that there’s a team building ceiling with that and I’m I certainly want to acknowledge that I I also want to just say out loud like Hunter can be part of a pretty good defense we’ve seen that in certain alignments y the it’s just it’s worth just keeping the context because we’re gonna get into the offense I promise but it’s just like I hope people could take a more sober step back about what DeAndre Hunter is now at age 26 and the offense is gets more attention for every every player it’s not a huge surprise um but it’s also like Okay can he be and you I think you said it perfectly earlier ear this ation if he’s your third or fourth best defender on the court sure sign me up like I I I I don’t mean to make this as broad as as it seems Glenn but how good is is De Hunter as a Defender is a question that I get asked maybe you’ve probably asked it too it’s like okay the contract is what it is the offense is what it is although by the way he’s improved there and we’ll get into that but broadly speaking is deand Hunter like a capital G good defender or is he just like an okay Defender is an actual actually interesting and also important talking point yeah so the way that I think about this and and maybe this just works for my brain so take it or leave it there are there are defenders in the league whatever the number is 20 25 that can defend in any situation any game any matchup you throw them out there and they’re gonna they’re going to do their thing right there’s whether there’s the next one tier or two tiers below that there are guys that need to be in the right role in the right situation surrounded by the right people and to have their role optimized for what they do and I view DeAndre in that class he’s probably in like the third tier kind of in the league where you’re probably getting to the I don’t know 80 to 150 you know somewhere in that range you know and he’s probably in the middle of the pack kind of in that range or something like that and so that’s too low to for me to use the capital G that you referencing there yeah but but that’s the thing is like he’s like a lot of guys who have defensive tools defensive value defensive ability but if you put him into a suboptimal situation his weaknesses and his shortcomings are magnified pretty quickly right yeah we think we see that most like obviously like as we’re watching the playoffs now and the finals now guys who were stable Defenders across the whole season and you get into a postseason context and it’s like you know oh my gosh what’s going on with this guy this guy all a sudden can’t defend anymore right uh and so for me that’s the way that I view him is I want him being a more of a supporting Defender connecting Defender organizing Defender that’s really where I want him spending most of the time can you use him in a switchable lineup yes right I don’t want that to be what I’m doing with him all the time number one it’s not good for him from a wear and tear and kind of injury management perspective but on top of that you’re just kind of you know getting him out of the role where I think he’s most optimized so you’re like Glenn like there’s roughly 500 ISP players in League like where do you think he falls he’s I don’t know he’s probably like one 20 you know something somewhere around that range maybe 110 it kind of depends on what you a person values too right and and it’s hard to do this intentionally I I should have said that in a different way but you’re it’s everybody the way you put it is great the way you put it is great though for me I want to emphasize what you said he’s not in the group of guys who you could just be like you know doesn’t matter what else happens he’s gonna be a good Defender for you like it does right and look I don’t want to emphasize this too much because you know I am I do value the numbers More Than A lot of people do he’s always kind of rated by the advanced numbers as like an okay Defender like yeah and you know on a bad defense okay you know for instance we’ll use EPM right this year he was pretty bad in EPM year before was like 68th percentile it’s above average on the Hawks like you’re all these Advanced numbers have some some sort of onoff split and if you’re on a bad defense it’s going to weigh you down a little a little bit to some extent but also I could also paint a pretty rough picture and just say okay yes you have a 68 forward but a 68 forward who doesn’t create blocks and Steals and doesn’t rebound there’s a ceiling on that player defensively especially if we already agreed that he’s not he’s not a lock down guy oneon-one and like he does a great job on LCA yeah that’s that’s great like he he might be one of the 10 guys in the league you might want to guard Luca it’s kind of funny it’s kind of funny but it’s true but you’re not playing LCA every night you’re just you’re just not so unless he’s in the Western Conference well right I’m just saying I I could paint a pretty dire picture and I don’t mean to because I do think again watching every minute of his career literally for five years I I think he could be a part of a quality defense I do think that he’s not going to be the guy that people thought he was going to be defensively and there are always limitations to a guy who does not create Havoc or rebound as a non-point guard like if you’re a wing and he and for me he’s really a combo forward like there are some teams he he prob should play the four on with this Hawks team he’s still going to have because look okay we’re get to the offense in a second but defensively I think I wanted to be my second forward defensively and on a on a really really really good team and yeah I think Jaylen has way better tools than DeAndre does and now Hunter is a lot more polished as a Defender than Jaylen is um but the flashes with Jaylen are obviously going to be way better than the flashes with with DeAndre that’s just the way it is and you mentioned earlier I agree with you by the way about jayen he’s got a long way to go in like the secondary stuff but he’s also at an age and has a physical profile that like you still believe it can happen for him whereas Hunter is 26 and seems to be on the on the wrong side of the of the of the physical thing so I’m not even sure what like which picture we’re painting I think it’s I I think objectively you and you and I probably fall on the more appreciative scale of what he’s able to do defensively and it’s still not like a huge glaring hoay DeAndre for his defense at this point in time I don’t yeah yeah I mean it yeah I mean again I don’t want to keep going back to it but when when they had JC and DeAndre like they they they they just kept things so much more cleaned up right on the weak side and now they were kind of down to one and and I’d have to give Jaylen some credit I know we’re going to do a whole episode on him yeah but when Jaylen was a little bit more empowered like a little bit more empowered across the season you would see some examples of him doing that stuff right but he had to be push reminded coach verbally coach oftentimes by the coaching staff on the bench you know to kind of you know do this and do that and kind of make that happen see this call it and all that sort of stuff so I I think J I think Jaylen gets there what happen this coming season I don’t know right but it’s a here’s the thing like all the Hawks fans that are hoping that dowr gets traded and there are plenty of scenarios where that could be a good thing for the Hawks there are a lot of Series where that could be a good thing for the Andre right too right oh yeah I do think that he if you were picking a a situation for him I don’t think it would probably be here and that’s it’s weird because we’ never SE we’ve never seen him anywhere else so like it’s it’s there’s projection this he’s been a five-year player in the same on the same team so we’re guessing but I do think that I’m not saying he’d be something a star somewhere else but I do think that he might be a positive changing scenery candidate for him um y for that yeah I mean like you put him in Milwaukee that has like all the defensive structure at the four and the five and and he and can rebound like crazy right and like all of a sudden he’s like such a good additive kind of Defender there we can I don’t want to name all the teams but you no you know you drop him in the west Western Conference a team that has literally nothing for Luca and you know and and and basically I’m not saying like oh he DeAndre is our defensive no but you get into a seven game series with them but Dallas you’ve got something to go to that you know has some history of kind of some working working there and so I feel like you know when you look at Clint like H Hawks fans Trey Clint Trey DeAndre you know Clint’s a little bit harder and easier I mean he’s aspiring contract and so there’s gener a little more flexibility or trying to kind of pull the trigger or something like that I think there are teams that look at Deandrea and say we’re going to use him the right way and he can really help us and the might shock Hawks fans but you know we I’ve talked about before you and I talked about before the constant rebooting of the plan I think has undermined deandre’s development a lot and in his progress in in a lot of ways but that still doesn’t change that he is what he is and he’s not what he’s not right today and so I want to be kind of kind of careful about that but I mean but I would if the Hawks do trade DeAndre and he lands to a really good spot it will not surprise me if everybody goes what was the Lena doing with DeAndre Hunter all this time you know which would be which would be silly but yeah I’m but but it’s one of those things that it’s one of those things that that does happen and like I said like there are there are plenty of scenarios where it makes sense for the Hawks I like I appreciate DeAndre and so I I hope whether it’s with Atlanta or elsewhere he lands in a situation where he is more optimized for himself and just has has some you know a little bit of a better experience you know that again we talked about they trade to you look at the numbers if they tra Clint DeAndre and try to improve the defense it’s all in one off season like what there is thisiz yeah there is this funny way of talking about it where there’s also this talking point about you know we’ve I know I’ve led the charge on this about how bad that point of attack has been yeah you know he Hunter doesn’t fix that for you but you know that’s an and you have to fix it either way whether he’s on the team or not like they have fundamental defensive issues that have to be fixed whether Deion Reay and Clint are on the team or not but you’re right there is kind of a funny notion about improving the and look I’m not saying they can’t um because look especially on offense as we’ll get into in just literally one minute about DeAndre defensively it is kind of a hard sell on the surface to say all right this is a bottom five defense let’s take away to let’s just be considera of two of their top three or four Defenders on the roster and then that’s supposed to improve the defense it is kind of fun and if we go back one year and talk about JC then it’s like you know all same same thing like if you go back and look at that Boston Series last year when John and DeAndre were on the court like their defensive rating was I I’m just going off memory here was like I don’t know 97 98 which is a ridiculously good defensive rating but you might want to like don’t cover your eyes on the offensive about the offense exactly that group could not score as much as way to try to kind of yeah that’s my way to kind of transition this over offense was that right yeah Clint plus John plus DeAndre had like a 97 defensive rating in that series or something like that right but their offensive rating I think was like 92 which is abysmal right and that’s where you got you know I think I think the thought process may have been well it starts by breaking up JC and DeAndre right because you know shooting P you know JC’s shot kind of disappeared not both of them are underwhelming passers both of them are you not the strongest ball handlers Etc and that really showed up in the Boston series but it was interesting to see what happened with Down’s offense this year for sure as much as you and I appreciate defense you got to be able to do both both both ends of the floor and like if it was only a fix the defense if all you matter in the world was fix the defense I don’t think you’d start with trading Clinton DeAndre it’s just that you also want to you have to maintain your offense or improve your offense too and that’s that’s where it gets to be a little bit more of a challenge all right that is all with part one of two myself and Glenn Willis talking all things deand Ray Hunter part two should be available in your same podcast feed right now so go ahead and find that podcast Apple Spotify YouTube overcast anywhere you find the show we should be there with part two it is available right now please subscribe to the podcast tell your friends and family about the show crucially as we try to grow the podcast in this very busy very intriguing time for the Atlanta Hawks Al you can also follow the show on Twitter at lotson Hawks follow me there as well at BTR Roland follow my patreon work at patreon.com btrr and without any more delay we’ll sign off now part two should be available in your podcast feed of choice and we’ll see you all next time

Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) hosts episode No. 1738 of the Locked on Hawks podcast, and he is joined by Glen Willis (@willis_glen) for Part 1 of a 2-part discussion. The conversation continues the 2024 Atlanta Hawks player capsule series with a deep dive into De’Andre Hunter, including strengths, weaknesses, future considerations, roster building factors, and much more.

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOHawks?sid=YouTube

Locked On NBA League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Draft, WNBA & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNBA

#AtlantaHawks #NBA #TraeYoung

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!

LinkedIn

LinkedIn Jobs helps you find the qualified candidates you want to talk to, faster. Post your job for free at LinkedIn.com/LOCKEDONNBA. Terms and conditions apply.

BetterHelp

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Make your brain your friend, with BetterHelp. Visit BetterHelp.com/LOCKEDONNBA today to get 10% off your first month.

eBay Motors

For parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.

PrizePicks

Go to PrizePicks.com/lockedonnba and use code lockedonnba for a first deposit match up to $100!

Gametime

Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.

FanDuel

FanDuel, America’s Number One Sportsbook. Right now, NEW customers get ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS with any winning GUARANTEED That’s A HUNDRED AND FIFTY BUCKS – win or lose! Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started.

FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)