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Pelicans 2022 Projected Starting Lineup

Pelicans 2022-23 Season Previews: Willy Hernangomez Worth Weight In Gold

Going into a third season with the New Orleans Pelicans, Willy Hernangomez is valued at the same price as gold by the front office.

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New Orleans Pelicans
New Orleans Pelicans

Willy Hernangomez is listed as a 250-pound reserve center yet he was deemed “untouchable” by the team at the trade deadline. Why? Because Hernangomez is worth his weight in gold.

Gold is trading at $1700 per ounce, just over $27,000 per pound. It would cost almost $7 million for 250 pounds. Hernangomez just signed a three-year deal worth $7.3 million, locking the Spanish star up through his age-30 season. Current gold market prices and Executive Vice President David Griffin's comments during exit interviews explaining Hernangomez's value suggest the metaphor fits.

  • 2021-22 Season Stats: 9.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists
  • per 100 possessions: 26.7 points, 19.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists
  • Player Efficiency Rating: 22.2
  • 2022-23 Expected Role: Reserve Big, Bench Contributor

Hernangomez's infectious personality is undeniable. His laughs can be heard a good distance outside of the locker room. “We refused to trade him because of what he gives the group (from a chemistry and locker-room standpoint)” said Griffin.

Before departing for national team duty Hernangomez told Christian Clark, “The most important thing is how you dedicate yourself to the game. To learn the game. To study the game. To work out on your body. To try to be a true professional. It’s something that I learned eight years ago. It helped me a lot to grow as a player, as a person.”

Spain’s Gasol brothers helped team Willy and Juancho “the most important thing in life is having fun. Having fun with the sport of basketball. Having fun with my friends. Having fun with my family. Because life is too short. There’s no time to worry. There’s only time to do your best, give everything to basketball, 120% every single day.”

Hernangomez's advanced stats and recent run through European competition suggest he can handle a bigger role for an NBA team. He has held his own against several NBA starters this summer, including Jonas Valanciunas. Bleacher Report's best-kept secret averaged 19.4 points, 14.5 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per 36 minutes while shooting 52 percent from the field for the Pelicans. The comfort level was noticeable from the line, as he hit on a career-high 77.3 percent from the charity stripe in New Orleans.

Head Coach Willie Green said the Spanish star was one of the “pillars of the team” after a tough, skeleton-crew loss on the road against Joel Embiid’s Philadelphia 76ers. Hernangomez logged DNP-CDs for three weeks then posted a 29-point, 10-rebound stat line against an MVP candidate. Hernangomez does not get ready, he stays ready and it contributes greatly to team chemistry with Spain and the Pelicans.

Hernangomez scored 21 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 23 minutes against a Valanciunas-led Lithuania in a Round of 16 knockout game. That outing followed a 14-point, 13-rebound night in just 25 minutes against Montenegro. Consistency and readiness are two big reasons why teams value the older Hernangomez brother more than Adam Sandler and Netflix.

Hernangomez finished last season 8th overall in rebounds per minute. Only Andre Drummond, Rudy Gobert, Clint Capela, Hassan Whiteside, JaVale McGee, Omar Yurtseven, and Nikola Jokic were better at clearing the glass. Only Stephen Adams grabbed more offensive rebounds per minute last year.

A glue guy with starter-level talent that is comfortable taking a reserve role while only taking up about $2.6 million of the salary cap? Every NBA front office scours the globe to dig up those kinds of gems. New Orleans already has one of the best bargains in the business.

The six-year veteran said during exit interviews, “My season personally I think was my best career season so far. I think I proved that I can play in this league. Obviously, I would’ve loved to play more minutes. I think I deserve to be playing every game. But at the end of the day, I’m a team guy. Whatever the team needs to win, I will take it...It was an incredible year. From the beginning, so hard, so tough. It was something amazing to be in the playoffs. New Orleans, the city was unbelievable. My first playoffs. It was a season I’m going to remember for my (lifetime).”

That attitude is one of many reasons to expect Willy Hernangomez to be available to Willie Green to start the season. It seems more likely the Spaniard steps into a bigger role if and when the Pelicans make a decision on Jaxson Hayes at the trade deadline. Hernangomez is a safer, cheaper, and arguably more talent option for those minutes already. It would not be surprising to see him have a breakout second half of the season.

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