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Minnesota Timberwolves: Analyzing new players from Covington trade

By Andrew Ites

DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 20: Malik Beasley #25 of the Denver Nuggets brings the ball down the court against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter at the Pepsi Center on December 20, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - DECEMBER 20: Malik Beasley #25 of the Denver Nuggets brings the ball down the court against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the fourth quarter at the Pepsi Center on December 20, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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Minnesota Timberwolves
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – NOVEMBER 21: Juan Hernangomez #41 of the Denver Nuggets looks on during the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 21, 2018 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images) /

Juan Hernangomez

The next two players that the Wolves were able to acquire from the Nuggets are in the final year of their current contracts, but Minnesota could potentially bring one or both of them back by re-signing them in restricted free agency.

The first is Juan Hernangomez (aka Juancho), who is in his fourth season after being taken 15th overall in the 2016 Draft.

Juancho was a pretty important piece of the Nuggets’ rotation last year as he played nearly 20 minutes per game and made 25 starts for a Denver squad that earned the second seed in the West.

While he didn’t put up any major counting stats, Hernangomez had a solid overall impact on the team as he ranked 43rd among 78 power forwards in ESPN’s real plus-minus metric.

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Like Vanderbilt, Hernangomez is also 6-foot-9, and Juancho has proven that he’s able to be a cog in a switching system which is presumably one of the reasons why the Wolves targeted him.

Although he’s a streaky shooter, Hernangomez is capable of knocking down threes as he’s hit 35% from deep on 2.1 attempts per game in his career, including last year where he hit 36.5% of his 2.6 attempts per game.

The Wolves should be able to re-sign him at a reasonable price in restricted free agency if they so choose this summer, and he’d be a good fit for the style of play that Ryan Saunders wants to employ in Minnesota.

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