Atlanta Hawks: 3 biggest disappointments from the 2018-19 NBA season

3. Kevin Huerter

When the Hawks used one of their three first round picks in last year’s draft to select University of Maryland sharpshooter Kevin Huerter, some analysts believed that the franchise had its own version of Klay Thompson to go with their discount Stephen Curry, a.k.a. Trae Young.

The former Terp’s 3-point archery translated well to the NBA, but the rest of his numbers bared little resemblance to five-time All-Star’s output. Through 75 games, Huerter averaged a meager 9.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists a night, albeit with a decent .419/.385/.732 shooting line.

Huerter contributed very little in the way of offensive diversity in his rookie campaign; he struggled to finish on drives to the rim (40.4 percent), was subpar in the pick-and-roll (0.75 points per possession, placing him in the 33rd percentile), and offered little resistance on defense (opponents shot 51.1 percent against him and he ranked 55th out of 80 shooting guards in Defensive Real Plus-Minus).

None of this renders Huerter a bust; after all, he did undergo hand surgery prior to the season, which explains why head coach Lloyd Pierce eased him into the starting lineup early on. The team was actually better with him on the floor as well, as Atlanta’s net rating went from -9.3 to -2.6 with Huerter in the lineup.

At 20 years old, Huerter has time to develop into a great two-way wing, but his performance this season left a lot to be desired.