From EuroBasket MVP to six minutes in three NBA games: What about Willy Hernangómez?

In a few months the face of Willy Hernangómez (Madrid, 1994) has changed . He lived the joy of his career, by leading the Spain of the impossible in the victory of the most competitive EuroBasket ever. He was crowned MVP at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin and asked for a place among the best in world basketball. Not surprisingly, he had stopped Rudy Gobert, Jonas Valanciunas, Domantas Sabonis, Daniel Theis or Alperen Sengun . The place seemed ideal, some Pelicans who want to grow, but, for now, nothing has turned out as expected.

Although it is true that it is early to launch bells on the fly and alarmist forecasts, the oldest of the Hernangómez has only participated in five minutes and 53 seconds in three games of his franchise at the start of the new course. As always when he is on the floor, he had a productive balance with two points and five rebounds. Three of them offensive. But until there. His Pelicans have won one game out of 22 (against the Nets) and one game out of 12 (against the Hornets), and he hasn’t stepped foot on the floor.

In the rotation, Willie Green, their manager, puts Larry Nance (who worked well behind the rim against the Jazz) and Jaxson Hayes as second-unit principals, leaving Willy in a residual role. He may have something to do with the rivals, because only the Hornets used classic ‘centers’ of the Madrid type, but the balance of minutes is very negative.

What will happen?

But it is a worrying situation. When a team enters a winning dynamic, the technicians tend to define their pieces and except for a brutal irruption it is difficult to alter their ‘gameplan’. Therein lies the problem of Hernangómez, that despite the fact that he is considered vital in the locker room, he does not find his place on the parquet. “He’s the most energetic and enthusiastic person I’ve ever teamed with,” CJ McCollum said of him. But when push comes to shove, the competition is high, and it has always shown more than players like Hayes. Thing that remain unrewarded.

Willy’s EuroBasket, in which he wiped out a string of important pivots, indicates that although his position will not be that of eternal starter, it should be a key piece due to high productivity, ability to continue or adaptability to the plan which he showed with Scariolo. And if he continues down these paths, ‘NOLA’ doesn’t offer it to him… The possibility of leaving should go through his mind.

Credit:Marca,Getty Images.