Charlotte Hornets: Enes Kanter thinks Willy Hernangomez can be as good as Marc Gasol

Enes Kanter spoke highly of his former teammate and current Charlotte Hornets’ big man Willy Hernangomez.

Willy Hernangomez got some high praise from Enes Kanter. The New York Knicks‘ big man compared the Charlotte Hornets‘ center to three-time all-star Marc Gasol. Kanter and Hernangomez were teammates for a short time in NY this season before Willy was moved at the trade deadline.

Here is the full quote from Kanter: “I think he’s a young version of Marc Gasol. If he works hard enough, he can be as good as Marc Gasol.” While Hernangomez is a promising young prospect, he hasn’t really shown any signs of reaching the same levels as Marc Gasol. The Memphis Grizzlies‘ center is not only a three-time all-star but also a two-time All-NBA player and a Defensive Player of the Year award winner.

It’s worth noting that Hernangomez did say that Gasol is one of his favorite players and that he models his game after him. The only clear similarities of Willy and Marc are that they were both named to an All-Rookie team during their first year in the NBA, both were picked in the second round of the draft and that they are both from Spain. Other than that, Gasol is taller, a more skilled passer and a better shooter.

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Kanter isn’t the first person to compare Hernangomez to Gasol as Jeff Hornacek and Carmelo Anthony did so during Willy’s rookie season with New York. (Twitter/ @IanBegley) I’ll be the first to admit that it is a stretch to compare the two but I get why Kanter, Hornacek and Melo would do so.

Hernangomez’ skillset somewhat resembles that of Gasol as he is a versatile big with the ability to stretch the floor a bit while also being able to make some key passes on the offensive end. After a rookie season where he put up 8.2 PPG, 7.0 RPG and 1.3 APG, it’s easy to see why many were so high on Willy.

In nine games with the Hornets, Hernangomez is averaging 1.2 points per game and 2.0 rebounds on 23.1% shooting in 4.9 minutes. He hasn’t yet gotten consistent minutes with Charlotte but he hasn’t been dominant in the playing time that he has received.

At 23-years old, Willy still has potential but it’s unlikely that he develops into a star like Marc Gasol has. Still, Hernangomez could be a late bloomer. If he can become a reliable role player for Charlotte, that would be good enough for the Hornets who only gave up Johnny O’Bryant and a second-round pick to acquire the Spaniard.

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While Willy wants to be a similar player to Marc, he is also willing to learn a lot from eight-time all-star and current teammate Dwight Howard. (Twitter/ @NYPost_Berman) We’ll see if Hernangomez can continue to grow his game with the Charlotte Hornets and maybe reach some of the heights that Gasol has throughout his career.

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