Willy Hernangomez has not played much since he was traded from the Knicks to the Hornets. Following a strong rookie season in New York, Hernangomez fell out of the rotation and rode the bench for the most the season. He has played fewer minutes in Charlotte and head coach Steve Clifford said there’s a reason for that, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes.
“Unfortunately, in the world the players live in, they don’t hear that,” Clifford said. “It’s the organization, it’s the coach, the assistant isn’t working with him right . . . No, come on. The reality is this: He wasn’t playing here for a reason. You know, he’s going to have to change things.”
Hernangomez, 23, has appeared in 10 games with the Hornets, averaging just 2.0 PPG and 2.4 RPG. The production and playing time has waned, but Hernangomez said he likes the environment from Charlotte because of the blunt honesty on where he needs to improve.
“He tells you things that’s going on and what he wants,’’ Hernangomez said of Clifford. “He wants to you to improve if you want to play. It’s very clear. Here, everybody follows rules, defense and offense. Maybe in New York, it was a little freer, defense, offense. Here, everyone follows rules, everybody helps each other. I’m really surprised when I came here to see the difference.’’
Check out more Hornets notes below:
- The Hornets promoted Fred Whitfield to president and vice chairman, Pete Guelli to executive vice president and chief operating officer and James Jordan to executive vice president and chief administrative officer, the team announced in a press release.
- Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer examines how the Hornets can escape the middle class of the NBA. The team is headed for another losing season but possesses too much talent to dwell among the league’s non-contenders. Sorensen writes that getting rid of high-priced guaranteed contracts on the payroll and targeting Miles Bridges, Mikal Bridges or Kevin Knox in the draft is a crucial first step.
- Shane Rhodes of Basketball Insiders gives his take on how Charlotte can improve for the 2018/19 season. Rhodes writes that the Hornets need to accept their strengths (Kemba Walker) and acknowledge their weaknesses (lack of cap space) to make the right moves.
Clifford does not want to play Monk because he says Monk is not ready defensively but what’s the point of drafting the kid? Bacon and Monk can both be dynamic scorers if given the time instead we have to see Jeremy Lamb who is what he is.
Lambs been really good off the bench this year