Kevin Huerter Was Severely Undervalued by the Atlanta Hawks

Kevin Huerter Was Severely Undervalued by the Atlanta Hawks

It’s safe to say the Atlanta Hawks severely undervalued Kevin Huerter. Back in July, Atlanta offloaded their 2018 first-round draftee to the Sacramento Kings for a package of Justin Holiday, Moe Harkless, and a heavily protected first-round pick. Almost halfway through the 2022-23 NBA season, it looks like the Kings got away with highway robbery. Huerter is having the best season of his career so far, averaging a career-high 15.8 points per game and shooting 42% from three on over seven attempts per game. Even Kevin Durant praised him for his play, contextualizing Huerter’s knockdown shooting by mentioning him in the same breath as Steph Curry and Klay Thompson. Kevin Huerter’s breakout has helped the Kings to fourth place in the Western Conference through 40 games.

KH is feeling it. Last six games:

19.1 PPG
4.0 RPG
3.3 APG
51.2% FG
44.8% 3FG
100% FT

— Maryland Men’s Basketball (@TerrapinHoops) January 10, 2023

The Hawks Needed Kevin Huerter More Than They Realized

The Hawks have to be missing Huerter’s skillset right now. As a team, Atlanta ranks towards the bottom of the league in almost every shooting efficiency stat and are dead last in three-pointers made per game. And the return they got? Justin Holiday is averaging 4.5 points per game and shooting 37.7% from the field. Moe Harkless was flipped to Oklahoma City for Vit Krejci, who is currently averaging 1.5 points per game over 17 appearances.

What’s inexplicable is that the Hawks were smart enough to see Huerter’s value and ink him to a four-year, $65 million extension in 2021. However, they weren’t smart enough not to trade him for next to nothing the following summer.

The trade was puzzling at the time, and it’s even stranger now given the season Huerter is having. Chris Kirschner, a former Hawks insider, said in November the trade wasn’t the work of the front office.

The Huerter trade was an abomination but that didn’t come from the front office

— Chris Kirschner (@ChrisKirschner) November 18, 2022

Basically, Hawks ownership wanted to get under the luxury tax. The way they decided to go about that was an extremely lopsided trade. Atlanta is paying the price while Sacramento reaps the benefits. Huerter has emerged as one of the best complementary pieces in the NBA with his elite shooting and secondary playmaking ability. The Hawks should have realized what they had rather than handle him like a dime-a-dozen shooter. Sacramento saw the Maryland product’s potential and have maximized it, proving Huerter is much more than just a shooter.

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