Entering the 2017/18 season, Willy Hernangomez seemed to be the exact type of the player the Knicks wanted on their roster. A talented, young and cheap big man who needed more work but had tremendous upside. Instead, he fell out of the rotation and was sent to Charlotte before the trade deadline.
Hernangomez will return to New York on Saturday, this time as a member of the Hornets. The Spaniard has found even less playing time in Charlotte, seeing the court less than five minutes per game. Former teammate Enes Kanter spoke glowingly of Hernangomez and his potential, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.
“I still talk to him,’’ Kanter said. “He’s doing an unbelievable job working out and an unbelievable job of working on his body. I think he’s a young version of Marc Gasol. If he works hard enough, he can be as a good as Marc Gasol.”
The 23-year-old averaged 8.2 PPG and 7.0 RPG in 72 games for the Knicks last season but his numbers have dropped to 3.5 PPG and 2.4 RPG in 35 games split with New York and Charlotte.
Check out more Knicks notes below:
- Leo Sepkowitz of SLAM Magazine profiled Knicks swingman Michael Beasley, who had one of his best games of the season, posting 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 7 assists in a loss to the Sixers. Beasley has carried a reputation as a potential liability due to his off-court exploits earlier in his career. However, Beasley tells Sepkowitz he hopes the reputation is changing.
- The Knicks could be on the verge of shaking up their point guard situation, Berman writes in a separate story. Deadline acquisition Emmanuel Mudiay has struggled as the starting point guard since the All-Star break. Meanwhile, Jarrett Jack has not played one minute since the break and Trey Burke — who has not started a game yet — has continued his strong performance. “Kind of everything is on the table,’’ head coach Jeff Hornacek said.
Mudiay is going to struggle as long as he’s in the NBA.
He needed that year of college. The more a player does not think he needs that year, the more he does. Always been potential only, physicality only.
This is false. Player development in the NBA is head and shoulders above where it is in the NCAA. He’s had 3 years to figure it out in the league. A semester of college wouldn’t make a difference
I agree the player development is better but the in-game experience against other top notch competition is undoubtedly better than a season in a foreign league (minus the euroleague).
That’s not the whole story and not what is crucial. Diaper dandies need to get their head on straight and get some perspective and learn to be winners. Minor league games are just more practices. Any system does that.
Just start Trey Burke already…
Why? Winning games doesn’t help them improve long term and Trey Burke has proven to be a fringe NBA player. Find out what you have in Frank and let him develop
The plan should be developing Frank and drafting Mikal Bridges this summer. Burke and Mudiay are not long term pieces.
Beasley was a joy to have in Milwaukee. Would be nice to have him back now. I hope the rest of the league is seeing his turn around and he gets rewarded next time he’s a free agent with a long term deal
Mudiay would look good on a solid bench unit. He’s not a starting caliber player