NBA
#15 Denver Nuggets: Juan Hernangomez
Jeff Hawkins is an award-winning sportswriter with more than four decades in the industry (print and digital media). A freelance writer/stay-at-home dad since 2008, Hawkins started his career with newspaper stints in Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, Upstate New York and Illinois, where he earned the 2004 APSE first-place award for column writing (under 40,000 circulation). As a beat writer, he covered NASCAR Winston Cup events at NHIS (1999-2003), the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks (2003-06) and the NFL's Carolina Panthers (2011-12). Hawkins penned four youth sports books, including a Michael Jordan biography. Hawkins' main hobbies include mountain bike riding, 5k trail runs at the Whitewater Center in Charlotte, N.C., and live music.
All posts by Jeff HawkinsUpdated15 Oct 2021
With the 15th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, the Denver Nuggets have selected forward Juan Hernangomez from Spain. The Nuggets decided to use at least one of their three first-round picks on a European prospect with a high ceiling.
Hernangomez is being called one of the most NBA-ready forwards of the European prospects in the NBA Draft, however, there is no rush for the Nuggets to bring him over next year as they already have two young and talented European big men in Nikola Jokic and Jusuf Nurkic.
The Spanish forward stands 6’9 at a slim 230 pounds, which will no doubt limit him early against stronger NBA-level power forwards. However, Hernangomez does make up for his lack of size with tremendous energy and work ethic on the floor. Scouts have reportedly praised his effort on the defensive end and rebounding thanks to a reportedly 7’0 wingspan and decent athleticism for his size.
Hernangomez also has drawn interest thanks to his solid shooting stroke, which many believe will help him develop into a legitimate knock-down stretch-four shooter down the road. Hernangomez impressed scouts by improving across the board statistically from season to season, which is compelling as he is only 20 years old.
It will be interesting how the Nuggets choose to handle Hernangomez, who does have the ability to buyout of his contract and come over to the NBA next season or if they choose to stash and develop him for the next couple years. Whenever Hernangomez does come to the NBA, expect a high-energy, shooting forward who has the potential and skills to develop into a quality contributor at the NBA level.
