Celtics’ Faith in R.J. Hunter Will Determine the Third Pick

R.J. Hunter is coming off a disappointing rookie campaign but whether the Celtics believe he can become their three-point threat will determine what they do with the third pick

Summer League will play a major role into how many minutes R.J. Hunter will see at the beginning of next season. Sadly, it happens after the draft so the Celtics will have to plan the draft based on the poor rookie campaign Hunter had last season.

The young guard only appeared in 36 games for the Boston Celtics as a rookie after being selected with the 28th pick a year ago. Hunter was seen as the team’s next sharpshooter, however, he was never able to crack the rotation and struggled shooting when he did play.

Hunter shot 36.7 percent from the field during the regular season and a dreadful 30.2 percent from behind the arc. He ended up playing five of the six games in the playoffs because of an injury to Avery Bradley but he continued to struggle shooting. He went 2-of-9 from the field and 1-of-5 from behind the arc, despite getting more consistent minutes.

Even in the D-League Hunter was a below-average shooter. In eight games, Hunter was the go-to guy on Maine, however, only connected on 35.9 percent of his shots and 29.6 percent from three. It’s not a surprise that he was never able to crack the Celtics’ rotation as a rookie and could be seen as a bust if he doesn’t improve next season.

Hunter’s poor percentages in the NBA are a little deflated due to lack of consistent minutes and only seeing minutes during garbage time. Even when Hunter saw significant playing time he wasn’t a factor on offense as he was used as more of a distraction than an actual scoring threat – showing the lack of trust Brad Stevens had in him.

Believing that R.J. Hunter will become the three-point threat Boston drafted him for could be wishful thinking though as Hunter was not as good of a shooter as people think when he played at Georgia State. He did shoot 39.5 percent as a sophomore, however, he struggled from the field and from behind the arc during his junior season. Hunter only shot 39.5 percent from the field and 30.5 percent from three – both career lows.

His stock was raised due to his performance in the NCAA Tournament but it was a mistake to label Hunter as the Celtics’ next three-point specialist. Now he is having a hard time adjusting to the longer three-point line and sometimes looks out-of-place on offense.

Because of Hunter’s poor shooting, the Celtics are still looking for a three-point specialist. It’s one of their biggest needs this off-season as they don’t have someone who can spread the floor when the game slows down. Also, despite the amount of threes the Celtics take, they are a poor shooting team.

If the Celtics believe that Hunter can still develop into a three-point threat then they would be better off drafting Dragan Bender or trading down and taking Jakob Poeltl. It would provide the Celtics with much-needed frontcourt help.

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It was only one season but if Danny Ainge is ready to move on from Hunter then he should draft another guard. The Celtics have a lot of options with the third pick and the reasoning behind Buddy Hield and Jamal Murray is it would provide Boston with a shooter. Both should be an instant improvement over what Boston had last season, especially if being compared to R.J. Hunter.

It would be the fifth guard the Celtics have drafted in the first round in the past three drafts, however, they haven’t been able to find an offensive juggernaut, yet.

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The fact of the matter is the Celtics needed a sharpshooter in the playoffs because their half-court offense was stagnant since they didn’t have one. With as many shots as they get up in their fast-paced offense – during the regular season – and the open threes they create in transition, a shooter would thrive in Boston. Maybe it’s too early to give up on Hunter but the clock is ticking and there’s not a lot of minutes to go around, especially for a young player who doesn’t produce.