NBA Mock Draft 2.0: Narrowing down the picks after lottery, combine

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.