NBA Trade Rumors: Willy Hernangomez wants to be traded

With the Spanish center scarcely featuring for the Knicks this season, Willy Hernangomez has made it clear he would like to be traded as soon as possible.

Shams Charania of The Vertical reported on Monday that Knicks center Willy Hernangomez would like to be traded before the trade deadline this coming Thursday.

The report states that Hernangomez’s representatives put in the request in the recent days, making it known to the Knicks front office that Hernangomez wants to be a part of a team where he’ll play. Emphasis on play, because Hernangomez has — somewhat surprisingly — completely fallen out of the Knicks rotation. The Spanish center has played in less than half of the team’s games, 25 of 54 to be exact, and is only averaging 9.2 minutes per game

This comes as a surprise due to the strong rookie season Hernangomez had for the Knicks. He played in 72 games, started in 22, and averaged 18.4mpg. Those weren’t empty minutes either as Hernangomez averaged 8.2 points and 7 rebounds for New York, and helped facilitate ball movement for a team where it was practically non-existent most of the time.

Hernangomez was the 35th pick of the 2015 NBA draft and has two-years left on his rookie deal. He has fallen out of rotation due to the off-season acquisition of Enes Kanter and strong backup play from Kyle O’Quinn.

However, the New York Post reported that even with Hernangomez falling out of the rotation they’re still seeking a considerable return. The Knicks would rater deal O’Quinn who they expect to opt-out in the summer, but he hasn’t gained nearly as much interest.

Hernangomez interest has most recently come from the San Antonio Spurs who are also interested in the Detroit Piston’s Stanley Johnson, per the Athletic.

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The Knicks approach so far is strange at best. Playing O’Quinn because you want to deal him makes sense. Doing it at the expense of the development of a young talented center on your roster though, isn’t ideal. Even if they deal O’Quinn, there will clearly be a relationship to repair with Hernangomez.