R.J Hunter Already Recognized by his Peers
In an effort to help ease the dark days of the offseason the NBA has a rookie survey where each first year player votes on a series of questions. While the Boston Celtics had nobody getting votes for rookie of the year or best career, R.J Hunter still received some of the better praise.
Despite being a very late first round draft pick Hunter still tied for second most votes for best shooter out of this draft, with 8.8% of the vote. Devin Booker took it in a landslide with 58.8% of the votes but no 28th pick is going to be upset with the second most votes.
The players also realized how far Hunter dropped in the draft as he received the second most votes for biggest steal of the draft. Hunter received 9.1% of the votes but it was significantly closer as he was just 3% behind first.
Hunter’s draft stock was difficult to gauge this year but the players recognize that Hunter is a potential lottery pick talent so it is no surprise that he is viewed as a steal at the 28th pick.
Hunter’s performance in the NCAA tournament this year certainly impacted a lot of the voters but there’s no doubt that his summer league performance also caught people’s attention.
Mar 21, 2015; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Georgia State Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (22) reacts with his father Panthers head coach Ron Hunter as he leaves the game against the Xavier Musketeers in the second half of a game in the third round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. Xavier defeated Georgia State, 75-67. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
It may be a bit surprising to Celtics fans that Jordan Mickey did not get more recognition as a steal considering he was the best rookie in the summer league. However, Mickey’s draft stock was much worse than Hunter’s was before the draft. Mickey may have fallen being a second round pick but very few had him projected early in the first round.
The good news is that the Celtics got two rookies who look like they may have an immediate impact and let’s not forget about their first pick, Terry Rozier, who also received some recognition in the survey.
Rozier never got as high in the ranks as Hunter but he got some votes for biggest steal, best play maker and most athletic. The best he did was in biggest steal as he was tied for 6th and he received a minimal amount of votes in the other two categories.
The Celtics were already a very young and exciting team and despite mixed feeling about their draft they certainly got more exciting. Both Mickey and Hunter fill great needs in rim protection and three point shooting and Rozier gives them some of the best guard depth in the NBA and he ensures that the team will always have solid defensive guards on the court.
The Celtics got more athletic while not threatening their small ball and they may have got their most offensively talented player on the team out of this draft.
The Celtics need to find a way to contend with the returns of Chris Bosh and Paul George and these rookies could go a long ways in keeping the team in the playoff picture.
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