Atlanta Hawks: How will Kevin Huerter look in his rookie season?

Former Maryland guard Kevin Huerter, the Atlanta Hawks’ other first round selection in the 2018 NBA Draft, comes into his rookie year with big expectations.

With all the discussion surrounding the Atlanta Hawks‘ decision to trade for former Oklahoma guard Trae Young in the 2018 NBA Draft, the team’s other first round choice, Maryland’s Kevin Huerter, has largely gone unnoticed.

Of course, Huerter didn’t put up the jaw-dropping numbers that Young did in college, but the Clifton Park native did average an impressive 14.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game with a 64.0 true shooting percentage at College Park last year, so it wasn’t like he was a scrub or anything. If he was, Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk wouldn’t have used the 19th overall pick on him.

Schlenk picked Huerter, along with Young, in an attempt to build a core that resembles the Golden State Warriors, with Young playing the role of Stephen Curry and Huerter serving as a Klay Thompson surrogate. Only time will tell how smart that strategy turned out to be.

The Curry comparisons — and the fact that the Hawks traded Luka Doncic for him — will place Young under an intense microscope to the point where Huerter may occasionally fall out of focus. But make no mistake, fans will certainly look to see if Huerter has the goods as much as Young, and just as he pleasantly surprised people at the NBA Draft Combine, I think he’ll do the same in his rookie season.

The Thompson comparison is slightly unfair for a couple of reasons. For one thing, even the best version of Huerter will struggle to reach those heights (NBADraft.net actually compares him to Chicago Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg, but he’ll probably be better than him). Thompson is one of the best two-way players in the game; if it were so easy to develop a player like him, every team would have done it by now.

Secondly, Huerter has flashed some playmaking skills that show that he’s more than just a spot-up shooter, albeit at the college level. As this highlight reel will show, Huerter can put the ball on the floor and create his own shot. In addition to his smooth, quick shooting stroke, the 20-year-old has developed a nifty floater as well as an ability to finish at the rim with either hand.

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Make no mistake though, Huerter’s shooting is what brought him to the dance, along with his potential as a solid defender who can guard multiple positions. In today’s NBA, both of those attributes are vital to any team’s success and Huerter could develop into an asset on both of those fronts. Like Thompson, Huerter has a technically sound motion and at 6’7″, he will be able to get his shot off with little difficulty.

That size will also help him on the defensive end. Even though Heurter only has a 6’7″ wingspan and weighs just 195 pounds, he has plenty of time to add some bulk to handle the physical demands of the pro game.

Many will still question whether Huerter will be athletic enough to hang with top-level NBA talent. Despite his spurts of on-ball skill, he won’t confuse anyone for Jamal Crawford or Lou Williams with his ball-handling either. There’s a good chance that the Hoiberg comparison is a bit more realistic than the Thompson one.

Unfortunately, the hand injury that kept him out of NBA Summer League prevented anyone from seeing what he could possibly offer the Hawks this year, which means we’ll have to wait a little longer to see what he can do.

Trae Young’s presence on the roster almost guarantees the Hawks’ other first round pick will fly under the radar this year. But for a guy that made significant strides at Maryland and opened some eyes at the combine, don’t be surprised if Kevin Huerter surprises people again in 2018-19.