NBA: Top 10 candidates for 2019-20 NBA Rookie of the Year

Another player that was part of the Anthony Davis extravaganza between the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Lakers, the No. 4 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft wound up moving right through the Big Easy to the Atlanta Hawks, where he appears to be ticketed for a starting role right away.

De’Andre Hunter, a 6’7″ forward from Philadelphia, spent three years at the University of Virginia, redshirting in 2016-17 and emerging as a potential star last season while helping the Cavaliers shake off a historic loss to win the NCAA Tournament.

Hunter put up 15.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 32.5 minutes per game last season, shooting 52.0 percent overall and canning 43.8 percent on 2.8 3-point tries a game.

Because of the mechanics of the trades he was involved in, Hunter was only able to play one game at the Las Vegas Summer League, scoring six points with three rebounds, a block and an assist in 21 minutes of a July 7 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He was 2-for-8 from the floor, made 1-of-3 from deep and turned the ball over four times, not a stunner given how ragged play can be in the Summer League, with teams thrown together over just a few days.

Hunter is a candidate for the award because of opportunity, but with Trae Young and John Collins likely to get the bulk of the scoring chances, Hunter might not get the chance to put up the gaudy offensive numbers voters are wowed by.

The franchise has only had one Rookie of the Year in its lengthy history and that was a long time ago, when Hall of Famer Bob Pettit was named the winner of the award after his first season with the Milwaukee Hawks in 1954-55, two cities and more than three generations ago.