The Utah Jazz waive Juancho Hernangomez: Who will ‘Bo Cruz’ play for next season?
The Utah team has exercised its waive option at the last minute. Juancho Hernangómez is left without a team and will have to find a place in the market.
The opening of NBA free agency has an important implication for one of the league’s Spanish players. Juancho Hernangómez, who went from less to more last season and ended up starting some games, has been released at the last minute.
The option to cut his contract had to be taken by June 30, or his $7 million salary would have been guaranteed for the coming year. The Utah Jazz have decided to execute the exit.
Shams Charania and Tony Jones (The Athletic) first broke the news.
Hernangómez finds fame in Netflix movie
Hernangómez, despite the fame he recently gained by starring in the movie “Hustle” as up-and-coming player “Bo Cruz”, has recently finished his most irregular season in the NBA, in which he has been playing since 2016.
Hernangómez: Moving from team to team
The 26-year-old from Madrid was involved in controversy with the Minnesota Timberwolves last summer, when the franchise did not allow him to participate in the Tokyo Olympics, citing his shoulder injury.
This led to Hernangómez’s trade to the Memphis Grizzlies, and he later moved to the Boston Celtics. He played In Boston from September 2021 to January 2022 with a role of little relevance, being able to participate in only 5.3 minutes per game.
Yet another trade took him to the San Antonio Spurs, and a month later he donned the Jazz uniform. In just one year he has gone through five teams and the next, if he signs with any more, would be the sixth.
At the moment, there are no concrete indications as to where Hernangómez is headed to after Utah. There were recent reports linking him to some Spanish teams, but the power forward has said he is not yet ready to return to Europe.