WILLY’S FINAL SHOT
Ex-Knick: In Charlotte, everybody ‘follows rules’
Unlike in New York, Willy Hernangomez is fine with not playing so much because he feels like he’s developing with a more organized franchise — and that starts with the differences between Jeff Hornacek and his new coach, Steve Clifford.
“(Clifford) tells you the things that’s going on, the things that he wants to do and wants to improve. The things you have to do if you want to play. It’s very clear,” said Hernangomez, who scored nine points with seven boards in his Garden return on Saturday, a 124-101 defeat to the Knicks. “I really like Steve and he’s a different kind of coach. Here everybody follows rules — defense, offense, everybody helping each other. It’s not like, maybe in New York it was a little bit free — defense, offense. Here everybody follows rules, everybody helps each other. I was really surprised when I came here to see the difference.”
Hernangomez, 23, also spoke positively about his relationship with Hornacek, all with the understanding that his demotion to the bench was a byproduct of the Knicks’ front office trading for Enes Kanter during the summer. Hernangomez’s frustration with the Knicks reached the point of publicly requesting a trade in February, less than a year after he was named a First Team All-Rookie selection and billed as a future cornerstone. According to a source, Hernangomez showed up to training camp in poor physical shape and that accelerated his demotion.
Hornacek pushed back at the premise he’s coaching with less structure than the Hornets.
“Every coach is different. I don’t know exactly what they’re doing over there. They may have a few more plays but to me a lot of their stuff is they have their handful of plays and their pick-and-rolls with Kemba Walker,” Hornacek said. “I don’t know what they’re working on, but we encourage guys to work on all parts of their game. We don’t know what they’re going to end up in this league. Every team does it differently. I don’t know what they do.”
In Charlotte, Hernangomez is third on the center depth chart behind Dwight Howard and Cody Zeller — meaning his opportunities are slim. He racked up seven DNPs since being traded for two second-round picks, while Clifford has placed the onus on Hernangomez to become a player worthy of more time.
Clifford, a former Knicks assistant, wasn’t pulling punches in his assessment, implying that Hernangomez’s attitude requires an overhaul and he needs to stop looking for excuses.
“Frankly if you were one place and you didn’t play much, I think that if you want to play more in the next place — I would work harder, do more, kill myself, that’s the way I would see it,” the coach said. “Un- fortunately, in the world the players live in they don’t hear that. Instead, it’s the organization, it’s the coach, the assistant, that isn’t working with him right. No, come on.
“I tell our guys that all the time. They’re surrounded by people who tell them what they want to hear. The reality is this — he wasn’t playing here for a reason. You know, he’s going to have to change things.”
On the court, Hernangomez said he’s undergoing something of a transformation in Charlotte, where he’s better suited for the direction of the pace-and-space NBA.
“I can shoot here. You see my warmups for example before games with the Knicks, it was just low-post and dunks. And here it’s more it’s just pick and pops, shooting 3s, floaters, I feel free to do more stuff,” Hernangomez said during the morning shootaround, with a bright smile and looking genuinely refreshed. “In New York, I was just rolling and playing the post and making passes. Here I can shoot 3s, I really feel great and nobody tells you not to shoot if you miss one shot so I think it’s going to be a great place for me to keep developing and keep improving. And like I said, I’m really excited for my career in Charlotte. It’s a great place. I’m happy.”
The new Knicks front office’s stated goal is to focus on player development, with Craig Robinson — the vice president of player development — saying recently they created a secret “innovative” and “transformative” approach to improving players “on and off the court.”
Hernangomez, however, credited the assistant coach who’s no longer around — Josh Longstaff — with his development in Year 1, when the center averaged 8.2 points and seven rebounds while shooting 53 percent.
Longstaff was the only member of the coaching staff not to return after last season when his contract wasn’t renewed.
“Josh was a really great coach developing players. We spent many, many hours working with him. And we really missed him — I did,” Hernangomez said.
If Hernangomez manages to reinvent himself, he wouldn’t be the first who had to leave the Knicks to do it. Tim Hardaway Jr. was traded to Atlanta and was humbled away from New York, before he returned to cash in with a $71 million contract.
But even if Hernangomez wanted — and perhaps needed — a relocation, he’s sad about leaving his best friend, Kristaps Porzingis, who tore his ACL just one day before Hernangomez was traded.
“If I’m honest, that night was the worst night of my life,” Hernangomez said about Porzingis’ season-ending injury.
“I’ve been talking to him a lot. It’s been different to not see him every day and not talk to him like before but he’s doing great and he’s going to come back stronger and better than he was. His mind is right and I just want him to be patient.”