Man, what a difference a month makes. It wasn’t long ago that the Boston Celtics seemingly had a potential starting power forward in Juan Hernangomez in their ranks from the Kris Dunn-Carsen Edwards deal with Memphis.
Now, it’s questionable whether or not the Spaniard will be any bit of a contributor at all for the Cs in 2021-22.
Hernangomez is on an expiring deal and was acquired with flexibility as an option because of that. Plus, it was convenient to offload two backcourt players that probably wouldn’t find the floor much this season.
Now, Hernangomez is in that same boat. At the moment, it appears as though Grant Williams is in line for the minutes ‘Juancho’ was expected to get. He is shooting a scorching 71% from the 3-point line and is receiving rave reviews from head coach Ime Udoka:
"“I’ve seen it firsthand, what he works on every day,” Udoka said. “He works extremely hard, came back in great shape. He asked me in the summer months ago when I got hired what he can do, and I said, ‘Get that 3-point percentage up to 40 and defend.’ He’s doing all of that right now.”"
While we heard good things about Hernangomez in the preseason from President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens–mainly about his fit alongside superstars Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum–that talk has faded to the background as the 2021-22 season has kicked off.
Hardwood Houdini doesn’t see this arrangement lasting long, and if the Cs slow start extends into November and December, perhaps Stevens could engage with teams with malleable rosters.
Today, HH comes up with two trades to make with the San Antonio Spurs: