Hernangomez: If I don’t play, send me away
THERE’S NO more ambiguity or anonymity surrounding Willy Hernangomez’s preference: he wants out and Tuesday he placed pressure on the franchise to make that happen by the trade deadline.
“All I can say is that I want to be somewhere where I can have minutes, where I can play and where I can keep developing,” the center said. “To be able to do that in New York would be amazing, everybody knows I love the city, I love the fans. I love playing with KP. But right now it’s not happening. So the only thing I really want is to find the best way for my future before Thursday.”
Hernangomez, 23, was booted from the rotation at the start of the season and racked up 29 DNPs in the first 54 games. The Knicks have been listening but their request for a first-round pick in return has thus far proven a prohibitive cost for potential trade partners.
Utah is among the teams to inquire about Hernangomez, a source told the Daily News.
While Hernangomez made his trade request public Tuesday, his agents had previously made all this known to the Knicks’ front office. The Spaniard, who was a First Team AllRookie selection last year, lost his rotation spot in training camp to Enes Kanter and also plays behind Kyle O’Quinn.
Kanter’s acquisition over the summer made Hernangomez redundant in many ways, since the centers carry similar strengths (scoring, rebounding) and weaknesses (defense).
“When you are young, everybody wants to play,” Hernangomez said. “The only way to be better and improve is playing through mistakes and learn about those mistakes so you don’t do it the next time. I’m doing my best job every day. Whatever reasons, those things I can’t control. You’re going to have to ask another person. I’m doing everything I can, 120 percent every day to do whatever I can control.”
A possible solution to freeing up time for Hernangomez is dealing O’Quinn. But the Knicks also value O’Quinn’s contributions on defense and in the locker room. They are against making a lopsided deal just to get Hernangomez on the court.
The logjam at center already prompted Joakim Noah’s banishment following a dispute with Jeff Hornacek. On Tuesday, Hernangomez — who was designated by president Steve Mills before the season as a franchise cornerstone — was talking about his Knicks career in the past tense.
“I love to play here. Those two years were amazing. But like I said, I hope we can find the best way for my future, for the franchise’s future, so we both can be happy. And hopefully we can do that before (the trade deadline),” he said.