If you watched a moment of Summer League, you know just how exciting of news this is. If you didn’t, there’s a good chance you don’t know who Juancho Hernangomez is.
Well, for those of you in the latter category, Hernangomez is a 6-foot-9 power forward with range out to the three-point line, energy to the rim and a basketball IQ to die for.
He, to put it in terms that Nuggets fans can understand, is sort of like a Kenneth Faried who can actually shoot and play defense.
Now, Hernangomez obviously isn’t as experienced as Faried and he definitely isn’t as athletic as Faried (not many are) — and, most importantly, it’s just Summer League — but he’s just about as productive as Faried.
Hernangomez averaged 8.2 rebounds per game at Summer League in 26.8 minutes, with 3.2 of those coming on the offensive end. And the eye test backed those numbers up and then some. He was everywhere; he seemed to have a sixth sense for where the ball was going to bounce, and he was able to capitalize.
Throw in a multi-faceted offensive repertoire, along with intelligent pick-and-roll defense, and Hernangomez was one of the most entertaining players at NBA Summer League.
The question, though, was: Will the Nuggets stash Hernangomez in Europe for another season, or will they pull the trigger and bring him over now?
Yesterday, reports from Altitude TV’s Vic Lombardi said that the stretch-four was “more than likely” to come to Denver in 2016-17, and this morning, Gigantes.com is reporting that the move is official.
Los Nuggets deciden quedarse con Juancho. Décimo español en la NBA 2016-17 https://t.co/l5zhRlZisN pic.twitter.com/Tb1XvaQ0ZM
— Gigantes del Basket (@GIGANTESbasket) July 22, 2016
According to Adam Mares of the Denver Stiffs, the article roughly says:
“Juancho Hernangómez (2.06 m .; 20 years old) will continue his career in Denver Nuggets , as has been told Gigantes del Basket. Thus becomes the tenth player in the NBA Spanish course 2016-17 .”
We’ve yet got get confirmation from any other source, but Juancho will be on the radio this morning, which could be where he verifies the news.
#Nuggets fans make sure and catch @juanchohg14 at 8:30 am with @ScottHastings, @Tom_Helmer & @LGRed on @Altitude950!
— Tim Gelt (@Tim_Gelt) July 22, 2016
We’re happy to have you, Juancho!