Celtics Trade Dunn and Edwards for Hernangomez To Get Down To 15 Players

https://www.boston.com/sports/boston-celtics/2021/09/03/celtics-juancho-hernangomez-things-to-know/



4 things to know about Juancho Hernangomez, who the Celtics reportedly traded for


Hernangomez joins the Celtics after putting up a career-high in points, but recently injured his shoulder.


Juancho Hernangomez joins the Celtics after a year-plus with the Timberwolves. AP Photo/Carlos Osorio



By Conor Roche

September 3, 2021


Forward Juancho Hernangomez is the latest player the Celtics have acquired via trade this offseason.

Boston reportedly agreed to a deal with Memphis to get the forward from the Grizzlies for Kris Dunn and Carsen Edwards on Friday. Hernangomez is the sixth different player (including Dunn) to be acquired by the Celtics in a trade so far this offseason.


Here are four things to know about Hernangomez.


He’s coming off his best season from a volume stat standpoint.

Hernangomez comes to Boston after putting up some of the best numbers in his career.

With the Timberwolves last season, Hernangomez scored a career-high 7.2 points in 17.3 minutes per game. The 25-year-old forward came off the bench for all but six of the 52 games he played in, adding 3.9 rebounds per game, the second-best of his career.

Hernangomez bumping his stats in 2020-21 isn’t a surprise if you look at what happened at the end of the 2019-20 season. After getting traded from the Nuggets to the Timberwolves at the trade deadline that year, Hernangomez averaged 12.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, starting all 14 games he played in.

Something that could be a bit of a concern though is the dip in 3-point shooting Hernangomez saw last season. In that 14-game stretch in 2020, Hernangomez shot 42% from 3-point territory but saw a near 10-point decrease in made 3s this past season, making just 32.7% of his 3-pointers.

Over his five-year career, Hernangomez is a 35.1% 3-point shooter, which is right around league average. If Hernangomez can make his 3-pointers at an average clip, you’d figure that it could help the Celtics to have another forward who can stretch the floor in any way as centers Robert Williams and Enes Kanter don’t have much range as jump shooters.


He recently suffered a shoulder injury, leading to a fallout with the Timberwolves.

While playing for his native Spain in the leadup to the Olympics, Hernangomez suffered a grade 4/5 dislocation in his left shoulder, appearing to keep him out of the Olympic Games.

However, Spain added Hernangomez to its final roster for the Olympics later in July. Hernangomez appeared to be all set to play in the Olympics until July 24, the day after the Olympic Games began, when he was removed from the roster. The decision for Hernangomez not to play came from Wolves president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas, the Spanish Basketball Federation alleged.

Spanish officials said that their doctors and Timberwolves doctors approved Hernangomez for play in the Olympics, but Rosas said the Timberwolves doctors never approved of it.

The Timberwolves’ decision to not allow Hernangomez to play in the Olympics made the forward “deeply disappointed,” The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski reported.

Hernangomez’s time in Minnesota ultimately ended in August, with the team trading him to Memphis on Aug. 25.

It’s unclear how long Hernangomez will be out for, but players with a similar injury have missed several months in the past, according to Blue Wire Pods Dane Moore.


He’s shined in international play in the past.

Spain really could have used Hernangomez in the Tokyo Olympics.

Hernangomez has played for his country on the international stage dating back to his teenage years. He helped earn Spain a bronze medal at the European U-18 Championship in 2013. He followed that up with silver medal finishes with the U-20 team in the 2014 and 2015 European Championship.

Hernangomez finally made his national team debut in 2017, playing in the EuroBasket 2017 tournament. He averaged 8.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game in that tournament, helping Spain earn a bronze medal.

The progression continued for Hernangomez in 2019. Hernangomez played a key role for Spain in the 2019 FIBA World Cup, averaging 10.5 points and 5.4 rebounds per game en route to winning the gold medal. In the gold medal game against Argentina, Hernangomez scored 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting, adding five rebounds in a 95-75 win.

Without Hernangomez, Spain was knocked out in the quarterfinal of the 2020 Olympics, losing to the United States.


His brother is also an NBA player.

Juan isn’t the only Hernangomez in the NBA. His older brother, Willy, is in the league, too.

Willy Hernangomez was drafted by the 76ers in the second round of the 2015 NBA draft, a year prior to Juan getting drafted. Willy Hernangomez never played for the 76ers, though. After spending another year in Spain, Hernangomez was traded to the Knicks, where he played the first two years of his career.

The Hornets traded for Hernangomez during the 2017-18 season. After two-plus seasons in Charlotte, Hernangomez signed a three-year deal with the Pelicans prior to the 2020-21 season.

Willy Hernangomez, a 6-foot-11 center, has averaged 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds per game over his five-year career.


Bob


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We got the better of the 2 Hernans! I remember that our newby has a nice jumper.
POBO (Brad) strikes again!

All in one thread...

Quote of the Day

If you have players on the end of the bench that don't usually get any playing time, they may as well be tall. - gyso

Metaphor of the Day

Danny only swung the bat when he thought he could hit a home run.  Brad is spraying singles to every field and is advancing salary flexibility runners around the bases. - BobH

Krispy Kreme Deal of the Day

I do wonder if he had to give them the Krispy Kreme's too, and what flavor, or just plain ????
The way Brad is making deals, my guess is he did not give them honey dipped - Rosalie


Pretty hot topic for quotes.

Heavy thinking going on here!!!!!

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Heavy thinking going on here!!!!!

"I stink, therefore I am." - Joe Descartes, pig farmer



Bob


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Another Hernangomez video.  This one is 11 minutes long, so you get to see more of his game.  He seems very comfortable dribbling and driving with, and to, his left.  A lot of right handed bigs don't like going to their off hand.  He also looks very comfortable shooting with his left hand around the basket.  I like his shooting motion too, I wonder why he's not a better shooter (maybe he jumps a bit too high on his shot?  As his legs get tired he'll lose an inch of the top of his jump and that will make him miss?).  In fact, there is SO many highlights of him driving to his left and finishing with his left I had to watch his 3pt shooting to make sure he is in fact a right handed shooter (spoiler alert:  he is).

There's a place for him on this team.  We are thin at 4.  If he rebounds (better than he has so far), defends and cuts to the rim he'll be another great pickup by Brad.  As a reminder he's getting paid $6.2M this year and has a non-guaranteed $6.6M contract next year.  This makes him either an expiring contract this year or a reasonably priced big for the next two years.  He cannot be combined with other players in a trade until after 10/24/21.  Opening night is October 19th.  Our first game is on October 20th vs Knicks, we play on 10/22 vs Toronto, 10/24 vs Houston and 10/25 vs Charlotte.  So basically 4 games, minimum, as a Celtic.  I'm not in a rush to get rid of him but Brad has shown no hesitancy whatsover when it comes to moving bodies.  So far he's making Danny look like a stick-in-the-mud.

My biggest concern is the fairly few defensive highlights.  I realize that most highlight films are offensively-oriented but, still, how about more?  He averages almost no blocks/game (career .2/game).  That's disappointing for a 6'9" player with a 7' wingspan.  He's also a weak rebounder, especially for his size (3.5rpg in 16.4mpg career).  To be fair the Minnesota Timberpups were one of, if not the, worst defensive team in the league, so it wouldn't just be him.  The team didn't defend.  Put Marcus Smart on the T-Wolves and they'd still suck, just not as glaringly, because defense is a team thing.  As far as rebounding goes he was on a team with KAT and Ed Davis on it and they got a lot of the boards. Offense is more one-on-one.  





Bob


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This guy is far better than Williams on offense and this factor may be more than enough to earn him playing time off the bench this year.

He will have to improve defensively, but no one expects him to be a lock down defender so if he can improve as a team defender his offense may make him more of a contributor than most might think at this time.

H Homez can certainly score. So quick and agile!!!🤩🤩🤩

wideclyde wrote:This guy is far better than Williams on offense and this factor may be more than enough to earn him playing time off the bench this year.

He will have to improve defensively, but no one expects him to be a lock down defender so if he can improve as a team defender his offense may make him more of a contributor than most might think at this time.

Clyde,

I realize this is not anywhere near a good comparison (different teams, different teammates, different coaches and coaching focuses, different schemes...) but, for starters:

Player.................................Career Defensive Rating (points given up, while on the court, per 100 possessions)
Grant Williams.....................111 (108 in 2019, when we had a good defensive team, 114 last year)
Juancho Hernangomez..........113 (117 last year.  It was 110-113 the 3 years he was in Denver)

Hernangomez is 6'9", 214# and has a 7'0" wingspan.  If you watched the highlight films I have posted you can see he looks long.  214#?  Wow.  That's really light to play 4.  I know Tatum was 6'8", 208# when he came into the league but he sure isn't that anymore (and he was getting bullyballed in his first year or two because he was so light).  Grant is only 6'6" but he's 236# with a 6'9" wingspan.  Not as long but he's not going to get easily muscled out of the way by another 4.  He's got the "Semi Ojelaye defense" body.  

I think Grant is a better passer than Hernangomez, has better court vision, but Hernangomez runs the floor better.  Grant is a much better 3pt shooter (37.2% vs 32.7%).  Neither are good frito shooters, and that sucks for crunch time.

Grant had been competing for minutes at the 4 against Semi, who was a very similar player with very similar physical attributes and skills.  Now he's competing against a taller, longer and more mobile player.  I think you're basically right in your assessment.  Hernangomez needs to find some defensive religion to get on the court but, if he does, he should get minutes.


Bob


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John Karalis @RedsArmy_John
2 hours ago
Celtics officially announce Juancho Hernangomez trade. As part of the transaction, Memphis will own the right to swap a 2026 second round draft pick (the better of Miami’s or Dallas’s) with Boston’s 2026 second round draft pick.



https://www.nba.com/celtics/news/sidebar/offseason-091521-celtics-bolster-frontcourt-depth-addition-hernangomez







Celtics Add Frontcourt Depth with Acquisition of Hernangomez



By Taylor Snow |  @taylorcsnow
Celtics.com
September 15, 2021



The Boston Celtics added depth to their frontcourt Wednesday morning, acquiring 6-foot-9 power forward Juancho Hernangomez in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for guards Kris Dunn, Carsen Edwards, and the right to swap second-round picks in 2026.

The latest Brad Stevens move should help to smoothen out Boston’s depth chart in several ways, as it fills a need in the stretch-big department with Hernangomez, reduces a crowded backcourt after multiple offseason guard acquisitions, and brings its NBA roster down to the 15-player maximum just two weeks before the start of training camp.

It also adds a solid bench player who happens to be coming off the best season of his five-year career. Last season in Minnesota, Hernangomez averaged a career-best 7.2 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, while playing 17.3 minutes per contest.

A good chunk of Hernangomez’s scoring comes from beyond the 3-point arc, where the 25-year-old has posted a career shooting percentage of 35.1 percent, a solid mark for a player of his position. He only shot 32.7 percent from deep last season, but playing in an offense that includes a pair of elite playmakers in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum should be a mutually beneficial experience for all involved parties.

Hernangomez fits the mold as someone who should coexist well alongside Boston’s two stars, as he is a versatile floor spacer. He’s someone who needs to be accounted for on the perimeter and therefore is someone who can open better opportunities for his teammates.

Outside of the NBA, Hernangomez has had significant success on the international stage. Two summers ago, he helped to lead Spain to a FIBA World Cup gold medal, finishing as the team’s third-leading scorer behind Ricky Rubio and Marc Gasol. International play has also allowed Hernangomez the opportunity to play alongside his older brother, Willy, a center for the New Orleans Pelicans.

However, Hernangomez was dealt a bad hand this past summer leading up to the Tokyo Olympics, as he dislocated his left shoulder during a July 8 exhibition game against France. The injury sidelined him for the entire Olympic Games.

It’s also been a whirlwind of a past month for Hernangomez, who has now been traded twice since Aug. 25. He was initially dealt from Minnesota to Memphis in a trade that sent veteran guard Patrick Beverly to the Timberwolves. Exactly three weeks later, Hernangomez finds himself on the move again, as he prepares to ship up to Boston.

Fortunately, the Celtics land Hernangomez while he is in the midst an upward trajectory. He has seen his scoring climb in each of the past three seasons and, at age 25, he has yet to reach his prime.

Ultimately, this was a trade opportunity that made all too much sense for Stevens to take advantage of, as it checks off numerous boxes for the Celtics. It strengthens their frontcourt depth, eases their backcourt logjam, brings their roster down to 15 players, and gives the Jays another teammate who fits their mold from a stylistic standpoint.


Bob
MY NOTE:  I want to see him defend.  He's 6'9" and has a 7' wingspan.  He's listed at 215#, so that might be a problem but we'll see how he handles the punishment down low.  I want to see him set picks and rolls.  I want to see him run the floor.  At 215# he should be able to outrun any PF he's up against.  His 3pt shooting isn't what I'm looking forward to seeing.  I realize that if he's on the floor with Kanter or RWill they will need a floor spacer like him, not so much if he's paired with Horford, but I don't want him to go 3-crazy.  Unfortunately, however, his record career-to-date is that about half of his total fgas are 3s.  Do me a favor, Juan.  If you're going to take that many 3s then at least make the rest of your fgas dunks, ok?   Run the legs off the other team's 4s.


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On paper this team looks deep with more young veterans.

Now let's sit back and watch how Ime integrates this talent into a cohesive unit.

Brad is still sitting on a sizeable TPE.