Pacers Almost Traded For Hawks’ De’Andre Hunter

The Indiana Pacers nearly acquired small forward De’Andre Hunter from the Atlanta Hawks, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.

However, talks between the Pacers and Hawks ultimately broke apart.

“Another trade in the Eastern Conference seemed to derail as it approached the finish line Tuesday night. The Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks were making headway on a deal that would have sent De’Andre Hunter to the Pacers, league sources told Yahoo Sports, but talks ultimately broke apart,” Fischer wrote. “Further details of the framework are still unknown, but as the Hawks have consistently looked at deals that could help Atlanta jump from No. 15 into the top 10 of this draft, the Pacers were not willing to swap the No. 7 pick in those discussions for Hunter, sources said.

“Indiana has been scouring the market for starting forwards, contacting the Warriors about acquiring Jonathan Kuminga, sources said, and it looms as a potential free-agent destination for several veterans such as Harrison Barnes, Kyle Kuzma and Grant Williams.”

The Hawks want to give swingman AJ Griffin more playing time next season, which is why Hunter could be traded this offseason.

Atlanta drafted Hunter with the fourth overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Virginia. The 25-year-old averaged 15.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.4 assists this past season while shooting 46.1% from the field, 35.0% from beyond the arc and 82.6% from the free-throw line.

Hunter signed a four-year, $90 million rookie contract extension with the Hawks in October 2022. He’ll make $20.1 million next season. The Philadelphia native has career averages of 13.9 points, 4.2 boards and 1.5 assists while shooting 44.4% overall, 35.6% from 3-point range and 79.9% from the free-throw line.

It will be fascinating to see if the Hawks trade Hunter before the 2023-24 season starts.