The Los Angeles Lakers got some friendly bounces in the hopper and wound up moving into the top four of the draft despite having just the 11th-best chance of breaking into that quartet at the top.
With a new, defensive-minded coach in Frank Vogel, De’Andre Hunter from national champion Virginia is a natural fit.
Hunter can guard all over the floor at 6-foot-7 and 225 pounds combined with a massive 7-foot-2 wing span. He spent two years at Virginia, experiencing the lowest of lows as part of the only No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in 2018 and the highest of highs with the bounce-back championship in 2019.
His biggest strength beyond his defensive potential is his maturity. Hunter is almost always under control and very rarely forces things. He’s a terrific mid-range shooter with some ability to create for himself off iso sets.
But if there is a question about Hunter’s ability to transition to the NBA it is that he is a solid overall player without one thing that sticks out as an elite piece of his skill set.
While his projections as a defender are high, his results at Virginia — less than a steal and a block per game — don’t support that assertion.