Analysis: Denver Nuggets Summer League Grades

Juan Hernangomez = A

Juan “Juancho” Hernangomez had a stellar week in Vegas. Hernangomez’s great play forces the Nuggets coaching staff and front office to make a decision on whether or not to bring him over from Spain this season or not. There are obviously pros and cons to each option, but there is no doubt the Nuggets got a great player at #15 in June’s draft.

Hernangomez started all five games at power forward and averaged 10.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and registered a pair of double-doubles.

The Denver Post’s Chris Dempsey had Five Nuggets takeaways from the Las Vegas Summer League, and one of them was that Hernangomez is solid:

"“It can be argued that the Nuggets’ best player in summer league was Juancho Hernangomez…He scored (10.2 points), rebounded (8.2 rebounds) and shot 54.5 percent from the field…Hernangomez was always active, which was best illustrated by his average of 3.2 offensive rebounds per game. He displayed a much more wide-ranging offensive game than he was credited for entering summer league.”"

I agree with everything Dempsey had to say about Juancho. The piece also discussed Hernangomez’s ability to drive with both hands, as well as his desire and length on the defensive end. Hernangomez indeed appears solid.

Hernangomez had a very positive week overall. Whether or not that translates into a spot on the Nuggets regular season roster remains to be seen, but if Juancho continues to play like this, it will be hard to keep him overseas for long.

Get to know more about Juancho here.

Next: Petr Cornelie