Any friend of Kristaps Porzingis is a friend of New York Knicks fans. So Guillermo "Willy" Hernangomez should get a warm welcome in New York when he suits up as backup center.
Hernangomez and Porzingis were once teammates on Baloncesto Sevilla in Liga ACB, and, as Hernangomez told ESPN.com's Ian Begley, "We are very close. We can say that we are like brothers."
Via a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Knicks selected Hernangomez at No. 35 in the 2015 NBA draft. It was a classic "Eurostash" maneuver as the 6'10" 22-year old spent the past year playing about 12 minutes per game off the bench for Real Madrid—the most decorated team in Liga ACB, the top tier in Spain's five-tier system.
In February, Porzingis told the New York Post's Marc Berman that he talked to Willy (pronounced "Billy," per Begley) every day via text and hoped he would be coming to play in New York. KP's scouting report (sales pitch), per Berman: “He’s big, very good hook shot with both hands. He really knows how to hold his defender. He’s really good in the post. The triangle offense would ...
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Article written by Sara Peters