The Atlanta Hawks traded swingman, Kevin Huerter, to the Sacramento Kings this past offseason in exchange for Justin Holiday, Maurice Harkless and a 2024 first-round pick (top-14 protected). It was a surprising move considering the Hawks had just signed Huerter to a four-year extension in the off-season prior. Huerter was drafted 19th overall by Atlanta in the 2018 NBA draft, and had spent his entire career thus far with the Hawks.
In 11 games with the Kings, Huerter is playing about 32 minutes per game while averaging 16.5 points, 3.1 assists, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.0 steal. Huerter is also posting an impressive shooting split of 48.8% from the field, 50% from three and 72.4% at the line. Watching from a far, did Atlanta make a mistake dealing away its homegrown talent in Huerter?
On a surface-level view, the pieces Atlanta received have made minimal impact. Harkless is no longer with the team as he was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a swap for Vit Krejčí and a second-round pick. Krejčí has only appeared in five games for the Hawks averaging just under three minutes per appearance. J. Holiday is averaging 6.2 points, 1.2 assists, 1.2 rebounds in about 20 minutes of action. He has been decent off the bench but nothing more than a standard NBA role player. Of course, the future first-round selection is an asset for the franchise, but nothing that will impact the club now.
Atlanta is sitting solid at 8-4 in the Eastern Conference, but in their losses, and even some of the wins, the lack of perimeter shooting and tertiary scoring is glaring. Bogdan Bogdanovic has yet to play a game with a lingering knee issue stemming from last season which has not helped the cause. Atlanta, as a team, is only shooting 32.9% from three, which ranks in at 24th in the league. Having Huerter for spacing, and the obvious red-hot shooting from beyond the arc, would have been a positive asset for the team.
Huerter has also been an underrated defender during his entire career. He is a athletic 6’7” body that can guard multiple positions on the floor. Coupled with his offensive prowess, Huerter is boasting a +18 in plus/minus to start the season for Sacramento.
With Bogdanovic eventually coming back, this could all be conjecture, and ‘Bogi’ could be a savior for the team. Yet, the lack of shooting only backs the claim of missing Huerter. Time will tell if the Hawks truly “won or lost” this trade, but they could sure use a “Red Velvet”-type player, and soon. At present, it does look like the front office may have pushed the eject button prematurely on one of their own guys.
Do you think the Hawks should have traded off Huerter? Let us know your thoughts below!
