2019 Lottery Redraft: How high does Darius Garland go?

With De’Andre Hunter falling from fourth to sixth in our redraft, the top five players are off the board. That’s an astonishing level of accuracy for the teams picking high in the 2019 NBA Draft; each of those five teams “hit on” their pick, even if the order was a little jumbled. That works out great for the Minnesota Timberwolves here in the redraft, as they whiffed in taking Jarrett Culver out of Texas Tech with the original sixth pick.

Hunter came out of Virginia with a strong defensive reputation, and that has mostly come through. He is the Hawks’ wing stopper, able to defend 1-4 with his combination of size, strength and speed. His offensive game has come along more slowly, but he hit a career-best 37.9 percent from deep last season. If Hunter can stay healthy he will likely hold his spot as a top-6 player in this draft class and the Hawks will have a chance at more sustained success.

The draft starts to get more discombobulated from here. Originally the Chicago Bulls drafted North Carolina point guard Coby White with the seventh pick, and he is not appearing in this lottery redraft as injuries and a lack of development have kept him from returning the value the Bulls were hoping for when they drafted him.

Instead the Bulls get the combo forward they need now in Keldon Johnson, who has played very well for the San Antonio Spurs and even earned a (somewhat nepotistic) spot on the U.S. Olympic Team last summer. He is a reliable two-way forward who averaged 17 points per game last season in his largest role yet.