National Post (National Edition)
Hernandez might be steal for Raptors
Big man slid down draft boards after recruiting issue
The Toronto Raptors didn’t think Dewan Hernandez would still be available at the NBA draft last month at No. 59, one selection before the night was set to conclude.
However, the six- foot-10, 235-pounder remained on the board and was the choice in the Raptors room after some discussion.
Hernandez averaged 11.4 points and 6.6 rebounds in 32 games as a sophomore at Miami University and seemed to be on his way up draft boards in 2019 after working all off-season to improve his jump shot before twice being declared ineligible to play his junior season by the NCAA because of an alleged recruiting violation.
But Hernandez’s misfortune ended up being Toronto’s gain as the team did not believe he would have lasted until late in the second round had he competed this season.
“That’s kind of the approach we take to it,” Raptors assistant general manager Dan Tolzman said earlier this week. “He was a guy that was starting to get some buzz his sophomore year and he comes from a really strong pedigree as a prep player before Miami and you could kind of see as he was getting comfortable and putting on some weight and just developing, there was a fairly good chance that he would have played himself out of the range of 59. Who knows how the season would have gone for him, but the little bit we saw of him this past year and all the scouting we had done on him earlier, we felt really comfortable with where he’s at and where he could get in our program.”
Hernandez has averaged 10.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in three Summer League games in Las Vegas before Thursday’s contest, but had shot just 32 per cent from the field.
Still, he has looked better in each contest after showing some rust in the opener. Hernandez notched 16 points, 11 rebounds and a block
against New York Tuesday in his breakout outing.
Hernandez went through 18 predraft workouts, a high number, and felt like his session with the Raptors was one of the better efforts. Apparently, the team agreed.
“It was very exciting. The champs, the only pick they had, and they chose me. That’s unbelievable,” Hernandez said. “They didn’t have a pick last year, I don’t think they had a pick before that. For them to choose me, it feels surreal.”
The centre said he watches a lot of film of Pascal Siakam and appreciates how the entire team plays hard and executes well on both ends of the floor.
He’s hoping to bring aggressiveness, rebounding and switchability on defence, which Toronto covets in its players.
“He’s a guy that plays with a lot of energy, he has a nice toughness about him, he really attacks the boards hard and he can step out and hit shots, too,” Tolzman said.
“But for a player his size, he’s got a lot of mobility and he’s a very opportune, impact sort of guy. He never really stops on either side of the floor and just quietly does his job.”
Summer League head coach Jon Goodwillie likes the way Hernandez communicates on defence, “which I think is always a big, important piece for a big is seeing the floor, communicating with his teammates what’s happening out there.”
SIGNINGS MADE OFFICIAL
The Raptors made some summer additions official Thursday. Terence Davis and Stanley Johnson are on board and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson’s league-minimum deal should be completed soon. Davis, an undrafted guard out of Mississippi, was to be in the lineup Thursday after wowing in his lone Summer League appearance for Denver earlier this week.
AROUND THE RIM
The Heat has seemed like the team that made the most sense as a Russell Westbrook landing spot, but reports Thursday had a potential deal hitting a snag. The Miami Herald reported Miami does not want to include prospects Bam Adebayo or Tyler Herro … Restricted free-agent Kelly Oubre Jr. got a two-year, US$30-million deal to stay in Phoenix.
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