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Summary

Hernangomez had a great start to the '18-'19 season, even starting 25 games for the Nuggets as they stormed their way to the 2nd seed in the Western Conference. However, as the season went on Hernangomez's minutes started to decline, and he was essentially out of the rotation in the playoffs. This decline in production and minutes can at least partly be contribute to health, as Hernangomez underwent surgery after the season to repair a core muscle injury that had been bothering him during the season. Hernangomez was never able to fully bounce back and re-gain his standing in the Nuggets lineup, and he was traded to Minnesota.

 

Hernangomez is a skilled player that can play either forward spot. He shot 37% from three in the '18-'19 season on just under 2.5 attempts per game, solid numbers for his position, and followed that up by shooting 35% this past season. However, he struggles to defend more-traditional power forwards, so playing him at the four could cause problems on defense and on the glass.

Cap Considerations

Hernangomez will be a restricted free agent with a $10 million cap hold and a $4.6 million Qualifying Offer. If the Timberwolves operate over the salary cap, they will likely tender him the QO to make him a restricted free agent. Even if they do not tender him the QO, they would still retain his Bird rights as an unrestricted free agent. However, there is a chance that the Timberwolves decide to operate under the salary cap, and would need to renounce Hernangomez to do so. If the Wolves do tender Hernangomez a QO, his QO could come into play if the Wolves let him explore the restricted market and he comes up empty. Signing the QO would make him an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

 

The Timberwolves will likely be choosing between re-signing Hernangomez and using their full Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, or letting Hernangomez leave and using a small amount of cap space and the Room Mid-Level Exception. Due to the amount of cap space being small, I would expect the former.

 

Other teams will have multiple ways to sign Hernangomez, as even teams without cap space could possibly use any of the Non-Taxpayer, Taxpayer, or Room Mid-Level Exceptions to sign him. However, if he is a restricted free agent, teams will be hesitant to make him an offer if they think the Wolves will match.

Potential Teams: Timberwolves, Hawks, Wizards, Pelicans, Jazz

Predicted Contract: 1-year, $4.6 million with the Timberwolves

Actual Contract: 3-year, $21 million with the Timberwolves

I thought the Wolves might play some hardball with Hernangomez, and that he might be forced to take the Qualifying Offer. However, the former Nugget was able to come to decent terms with the Wolves.

Last updated: 12/31/2020

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