The Atlanta Hawks underwent drastic changes at the 2025 trade deadline, and the person responsible for them is no longer with the organization. One of those moves looks a little better after the opening set of first-round playoff matchups.
In particular, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 121-100 victory over the Miami Heat seemingly confirmed what the Hawks already knew.
Hunter is a fine complementary piece, but one that was too expensive for the Hawks.
Hunter was held scoreless in Game 1 of the Cavaliers’ opening-round series against the Miami Heat, though he did tally 3 rebounds and 1 assist in the 121-100 victory. He was the only Cavs player to finish with a negative plus-minus at minus-2 in 16 minutes of court time.
The former No. 4 overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, though he never played for them, Hunter is in Year 2 of a four-year, $90 million contract.
Hunter found his stride as the Hawks’ sixth man this season.
That eased the sting of former teammate Bogdan Bogdanovic’s struggles before he was also traded. However, the Hawks capitalized on Hunter’s career year, seizing the opportunity to unload the remaining two years and $48.2 million left on his contract.
The Cavaliers hardly lost the trade, especially with the issues the Hawks’ pickups had during the Play-In, struggling against the Orlando Magic before playing well against the Miami Heat.
Former Hawks 6th man took step back to take step forward
Hunter averaged 14.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals while shooting 42.6% from beyond the arc in 25 minutes per game during the regular season with the Cavaliers.
His boards and scoring were down, which aligns with his drop in playing time.
Hunter, who has never logged more than 67 appearances in a season, was more efficient overall and from downtown with the Cavaliers, seeing his eFG rise from 56% to 59.6%. And he boasted the fourth-best on-off differential on Cleveland’s roster, per Cleaning The Glass.
He is also in the playoffs while the Hawks are at home, searching for a new President of Basketball Operations after replacing general manager Landry Fields with Onsi Saleh.
Fields, notably, executed the trade that sent Hunter to the Cavaliers.
The Cavaliers play Game 2 on Wednesday, and it seems at least likely if not probable that Hunter will perform better offensively. Hunter has failed to score in a game just one other time in his career, in 2020 during a 116-111 win over the Indiana Pacers with the Hawks.
