Juancho Hernangomez will likely spend the upcoming basketball season in Denver — not overseas. Vic Lombardi of Altitude TV tweet-tweeted Thursday that the 20-year-old Spaniard "will more than likely" be on the Nuggets' roster this fall.
The Nuggets took Hernangomez 15th in the NBA Draft in June. He is 6-foot-9, 220 pounds and projects as a perimeter-oriented power forward.
Nuggets general manager Tim Connelly said on draft night that he was unsure if Denver would bring Hernangomez aboard right away or let him develop in the Spanish League for another season. Denver now seems to be leaning toward the former option.
Hernangomez's Summer League performance likely had a lot to do with it. In five games, he averaged 10.2 points, 8.2 rebounds and converted 54.5 percent of his field goals. He also did this:
There is plenty Hernangomez needs to work on to become a rotation player in the NBA, particularly his strength. He looked great in Las Vegas for Summer League, though. It's looking like he'll earn a roster spot this year because of that.
