LTrades in the NBA are sometimes surreal. The player, the main one involved, is sometimes the last one to know that he is changing teams. And if you don’t have a mobile phone on top of that, everything gets a little more complicated. This is what happened to Juancho Hernangmez, whose cell phone was recently stolen. It had to be his brother Willy who tracked him down to inform him that he was a new Spurs player after the Celtics traded him.
Once the news was known and he had already played his first game with his new team, the forward spoke to the ‘San Antonio Express News’ about his feelings. “It’s a great opportunity for me. I did a training session for the Spurs before the draft and when I came here everything was still the same. I feel really good,” says Juancho.
The Spanish international has left Boston, where he had only played 96 minutes all season and had a very marginal role. “It was a tough time. I feel like I could have helped the team. I was ready for the opportunity, I was really excited to play for Boston, but it didn’t work out the way everyone thought. But I don’t regret it. It is what it is. I tried to help with the young people. They are very talented, I tried to be a good partner there and do everything I could. It was a great experience. A great group of people, with great talent, but it was not the right time for me. There was no room for me, ” explains the youngest of the Hernangmez with a feeling of frustration.
In principle, the change should be for the better. In San Antonio he will also have competition at the small forward and power forward positions, but he is confident that his defensive intensity, his ability to help the rebound and his good hand will offer him opportunities. “I love the way San Antonio competes. They’ve beaten us twice this season. I know they’re trying to rebuild and they’ve got young players and they’re working really, really hard and competing all the time. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be fun to learn from.” them and I hope they can learn from me.
Juancho will be under the command of Gregg Popovich, a myth of the benches who has won five rings, is the only coach who has directed 2,000 games in a single NBA team and is close to being the coach with the most victories in NBA history. the league. The Spurs, who usually give opportunities to international players (Parker, Ginobili, Diaw, Splitter, Pau Gasol, Mills…), know him well. “He’s a very experienced player and he knows how to play. He has a high knowledge of the game and is willing to learn and receive information. Basically, he’s a good seasoned veteran,” Popovich praised him. It’s a good sign.
