If life is about opportunity, then Willy Hernangomez is loving his Hornets life

If you’re LeBron James, you could plant yourself on any roster. For most other NBA players — Willy Hernangomez, for instance — it’s very different.

Circumstance — who else plays the same position, what the coach values, contract terms — factors greatly in a player’s career prospects.

Hernangomez obviously had potential, as demonstrated by his being named All-Rookie three seasons ago. But his team, the New York Knicks, acquired veteran Enes Kanter the following season; the presence of Kanter and Kristaps Porzingis ate up the big-man minutes, so Hernangomez requested a trade.

He ended up in Charlotte the middle of last season. Then there was a coaching change and a trade of center Dwight Howard. Circumstance turned in Hernangomez’s favor last summer, and he made sure the new staff knew how devoted he is.

First, that was about a visit by Hornets assistant Jay Hernandez to Hernangomez in his native Madrid. There, Hernangomez showed off a trimmer, stronger body and his effort to extend his shooting range. Then, Hernangomez told the coaches he’d be in Las Vegas for summer league, passing up a prior commitment with the Spanish national team.

“That’s a big statement. There is a lot of pride in that Spanish national team,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. “He recognizes (how much) he wants to be part of this team, how much he wants to be part of the NBA.

“That really set the tone for what we’re seeing today.”

Hernangomez looked terrific Tuesday against the Miami Heat, totaling 16 points and 10 rebounds in 17 minutes and making six of seven shots from the field. Based on talent and experience, Cody Zeller entered this preseason as the favorite to start at center. The minutes behind Zeller at the position are wide open, and so far Hernangomez has out-shined Frank Kaminsky and Bismack Biyombo.

I’d compare Hernangomez’s situation in Charlotte to when Jeremy Lamb arrived here following a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the summer of 2015. Lamb had good mentors his first three seasons with the Thunder, but the opportunity was limited. Now, Lamb is likely the Hornets’ opening-night starter at shooting guard.

Also like Lamb, Hernangomez arrived here still young enough in his NBA career that he was learning all that being a pro entails. Over the summer he shook up his diet, limiting sugar and fried foods, and encircled himself with a team of trainers to work on his conditioning, strength and skills.

“We were in the locker room (this preseason) and Kemba (Walker) walked up to me and said, ‘Who’s the new guy here?’” Hernangomez recalled of making over his body. “He said, ‘Billy, I know you’ve been putting in the work.’ ”

Hernangomez said family and friends didn’t see him as much as usual in Madrid because he wouldn’t let his daily regimens lapse.

“I feel like I’m a new player,” Hernangomez described. “It was way more hours than I was used to. On the treadmill three days a week. In the gym four days a week.

“And with my diet: Thinking about what foods are best for my body and when to rest and when to eat.”

Trade value

Then-Hornets general manager Rich Cho agreed in February to send two future second-round picks (2020 and 2021) to the Knicks for Hernangomez. That seemed a relatively small price to explore a center’s potential.

Initially, then-coach Steve Clifford didn’t play Hernangomez much. Upon Hernangomez’s first game back in New York, Clifford told media there he needed to see more effort and enthusiasm from Hernangomez, something he assumed he’d get after a young player received the trade he requested.

Hernangomez didn’t bristle at that critique; he responded. And Clifford rewarded him with minutes. Among the promising qualities Clifford noticed was Hernangomez was a strong rebounder in traffic; often when a half-dozen players had a shot at a rebound, Hermangomez was the one who got it.

When Borrego was hired to replace Clifford, he reflected on something he heard as a San Antonio Spurs assistant.

“I knew him a little bit through Pau (Gasol, the Spurs veteran and a top Spanish player), and Pau is a big fan of his,” Borrego said. “So I watched him on film and I liked what I saw.”

The skill that initially got Hernangomez to the NBA was a knack for scoring in the low post. The best way to complement that strength is by making defenses respect his jump shot. So much of the summer was about taking thousands of 3-pointers.

Over his first two NBA seasons, Hernangomez attempted 27 3s, making nine. Nothing about his perimeter shooting would cause a defender to chase him out to the arc.

In his first summer league game in Las Vegas, a teammate threw him the ball right where the baseline meets the sideline. He turned toward the basket, cocked his wrist and swished from 3 like he was Stephen Curry.

Hernangomez smiles constantly, but that shot invoked as big a grin as anything you’d have seen in Vegas that day.

Now what?

Hernangomez has the new coaching staff’s attention and the minutes are there for the taking. Borrego said Tuesday he’d like to see a set rotation at center, but that only happens if the players’ comparative performance establishes a pecking order.

What does Borrego expect?

“I want to see his aggressiveness: At the rim, in the paint protecting us. Contesting shots, being a double-double guy,” Borrego said of Hernangomez.. “He has the ability to do that. Now, the challenge is can he do that on a night-to-night basis.

“And we’ll find out.”

This story was originally published October 4, 2018 at 5:05 PM with the headline "If life is about opportunity, then Willy Hernangomez is loving his Hornets life."