The Atlanta Hawks needed help everywhere. They have two solid young pieces in John Collins and Trae Young. So, the idea for this draft and probably for years to come is to draft the best player available to get as much talent as they can. Naturally then, you’d expect the higher the draft pick, the better the player? Well, no. The Hawks got it backward. They drafted their better selection of the two later on in the draft in my honest opinion. While De’Andre Hunter had no reason to be drafted at 4th overall, Cam Reddish at 10th overall seems like a much better pick. The stats also back up this argument as well.
Cam Reddish Stats
Cam Reddish currently plays about 27 minutes per game. That’s about 5 minutes less than De’Andre Hunter. Despite that, their production seems to be similar. In rebounds, Cam Reddish averages 3.8 RPG, only .2 behind De’Andre Hunter. Even though his assist numbers are about as unimpressive as De’Andre Hunter’s, it is still noteworthy that he is only .2 behind Hunter as well at 1.6 APG. The only sizable difference, if it is even sizable, is their PPG. Reddish averages 9.6 PPG, while Hunter averages 12.3. Still, that is only 2.7 PPG more than Cam Reddish in 5 more minutes. You’re telling me that Cam Reddish could not get a 3PT shot or a shot with a free throw in 5 minutes? Yeah, I don’t know about that.
The fact of the matter is that this draft wasn’t necessarily oozing with talent. However, De’Andre Hunter had no business being selected at 4th overall. That much is clear. Cam Reddish was chosen 6 picks later and is doing just about the same in terms of production in 5 fewer minutes. Sure, if Cam was chosen at 4th overall and De-Andre Hunter was chosen 6 picks later, the narrative would be the opposite. But, with this draft class not really oozing with talent, it would have been wiser for the Hawks just to trade down. Especially since they need talent everywhere. Alas, they’re stuck with who they drafted, they aren’t bad picks, but Cam Reddish is definitely the better pick for the Hawks.
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