Minnesota Timberwolves: 3 most important quotes from Wolves training camp

Juancho Hernangomez loves his teammates with the Minnesota Timberwolves

Juancho Hernangomez was an important part of the Denver Nuggets’ rotation during their 54-win campaign in 2018-19, averaging 19.4 minutes per game over 70 regular-season contests. His role shrunk in the playoffs, however, and he was on the fringes of the rotation last year when the Wolves acquired him at the trade deadline.

Malik Beasley was in a similar situation in Denver, and the Wolves’ recently-re-signed duo grew close. Now, they’re together in Minnesota, and Hernangomez is excited about it.

The Ricky Rubio bit is something that hadn’t been discussed much in the wake of his acquisition on draft night.

Rubio and Hernangomez are long-time teammates on the Spanish national team, adding another angle to Rosas’ intriguing roster-building process.

For as much as Rosas scoffed during his media availability last week at the suggestion that the Wolves are focusing on acquiring players with connections to current players and coaches — and, to be clear, the evidence is extensive — the Rubio-Hernangomez connection is even less obvious than the tentacles connecting many of the players acquired by Rosas over the last 18 months.

But the duo knows each other well, and Hernangomez spoke directly to Rubio’s excitement to be back in the Twin Cities.

While it’s clear that Herangomez wasn’t about to land more than $7 million per season anywhere but with the Wolves, relationships with Beasley and Rubio were clearly attractive reasons for Juancho to ultimately re-sign in Minnesota.

It’s another chance to see Rosas’ “family” mantra play out on the floor and this time between players who already had very real connections with one another before coming together in a Timberwolves uniform.