NBA Draft: Luka Doncic rises to first in 2018 NBA Redraft

The Atlanta Hawks laid the groundwork for their backcourt of the future in one draft, taking Trae Young with the No. 5 overall pick, and going back to the guard well at pick No. 19 to take Kevin Huerter. Since then Huerter, nicknamed the “Red Mamba” by some fans, has started 156 games in three seasons for Atlanta.

Huerter has served as the secondary option in just about every way for the Hawks over the past couple of seasons. He has been the second option offensively to Young, the second option for passing and ball-handling (3.3 career assists per game) and the second option to defend opposing wings behind whoever has been available at small forward.

Things went up a notch in the postseason, including a magnificent 27 point masterpiece in Game 7 on the road in Philadelphia, hitting shots from any conceivable angle as he attacked the soft part of the 76ers defense. The Hawks’ best 2-guard is probably Bogdan Bogdanovic, but Huerter is an excellent third guard on a good team.

The Denver Nuggets could use one of those to fill in the gaps in their backcourt, and with Michael Porter Jr. off the board, they can do just that by adding Huerter in our redraft. He could hit the open shots that are created by Nikola Jokic having the ball, attack closeouts and mismatches, and fill in for Jamal Murray in a pinch.