June 29, 2018

Willy Hernangomez
C - 6’11, 240lbs - 24 years old - 2 years of experience

If the Hornets are seeking to move away from the ‘walk the ball up, feed the post style’ next season, that is probably a good thing. It does however make the addition of Hernangomez an awkward one.

Hernangomez remains an excellent talent. Give him touches and he will get you points. He has touch, moves, poise and patience on the interior, plus the size to get anything away – more than anything, he just constantly gets open for roll and dump-off passes. He has good hands, movement and knowledge of where to be, and there are signs of a fledgling outside jumper to boot.

Defensively, though, Hernangomez has that Enes Kanter if-I-just-rebound-enough-everything-else-will-be-fine thing going on. He is entirely ineffective when asked to defend the perimeter, and the hustle and footwork he shows offensively disappear defensively. He just does not have the raw skills or IQ for the position, and while he could mask this better if he worked harder to overcome it, he doesn’t. That’s what got him benched and traded by the Knicks, and it is what will cap his otherwise excellent potential unless he overcomes it.

This was an odd team for him to wind up on, though. With Dwight Howard and Cody Zeller in front of him at centre – and none of whom could play power forward or in a two-post line-up – there was not going to be much in the way of opportunity for Willy here. Hernangomez thus figures to be a big beneficiary of the upcoming Howard deal; even then however, his style of play, while not hugely post-up heavy, is the kind of thing that it would appear the Hornets generally want to get away from. Hernangomez’s offensive potential (including to stretch) bodes well, but the future is unclear.

Player Plan: Two years of minimum salary remaining, the first of which is guaranteed. Keep for both, and, should he start to break out, the new extension rules could come in very handy next summer.

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June 29, 2017

Willy Hernangomez
C, 6’11, 240lbs, 23 years old, 1 year of experience

In a healthy 1,324 minutes of his rookie season, Hernangomez proved himself to be a very good rebounder at the NBA level (especially offensively), as well as showing touch and feel offensively (high number of turnovers notwithstanding). Hernangomez is spry and clearly well-raised in basketball, knowing when to pass and when to try and score, and being good at both, with stretch potential if not much success yet save for some foul-line shots. Defensively, however, there is a fair amount to be concerned by, and not a whole lot to project; neither a rim protector not likely to be one able to do much to disrupt perimeter action, Hernango-mez compounded this problem by often not seeming to know where to go. Work to do, then.

Player Plan: Has a slightly above the minimum salary guaranteed for next year, then a guaranteed year at the minimum, and a fourth unguaranteed year. Worth keeping throughout, and perhaps dealable down the road when his future talent level is better established and his pairing (or lack of it) with Porzingis fully explored.

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