In full restructuring of the squad, at the dawn of a new project marked by economic austerity imposed from the presidential office -blessed austerity have the right to think the most modest-, the power of attraction of the Endesa League champion seems to remain intact. Barça revolutionized the Spanish basketball transfer market this Friday with two very weighty movements, showing off both muscles against their greatest rival.
The Barça club has submitted a formal offer to the ACB for Willy Hernangómez (Madrid, 1994), whose rights in Europe remain the property of Real Madrid. In addition, he has convinced the Spanish player with the most projection today, Joel Parra (Barcelona, ??2000), also on the white agenda, to change the Badalona Olímpic for the Palau.
Ever since Barça was proclaimed League champion on WiZink, vertigo settled in Juan Carlos Navarro’s office, forced to readjust the squad to the club’s new economic reality without losing competitiveness. The changes began on the bench, with the surprising goodbye of Jasikevicius and the arrival of debutant Grimau. And they’re still on track.
The name of Willy Hernangómez (2.11 m) had been on the table of the Barça technical secretary for some time, who played with several tricks in his favor. To begin with, their personal relationship, since they have shared a dressing room in the Spanish team and have won an Olympic medal in Rio and a European bronze in Turkey together. In addition, the couple of the eldest of the Hernangómez, MVP of the last Eurobasket, lives in Barcelona and the player knows the city well, where he spends a lot of time when the calendar allows it. The economic agreement was also quick. Last season, with the Pelicans, the center from Madrid received a salary of 2.44 million dollars, an amount very similar to what Barça has offered him and also almost identical to the one released by the departure of Sanli, the player that Hernangómez would replace.
But the signing is by no means closed. Once the offer has been presented to the ACB, Real Madrid now has until midnight next Wednesday to match it if they want to retain the player, which would frustrate the Barça signing. To this day, the white club has no intention of doing so as it hopes to complete the difficult renewal of Tavares, now aground, and also has Poirier.
The arrival of Hernangómez would provide the Barça squad with more versatility since it is a pivot with a more classic profile, powerful in the area and somewhat more uncomfortable away from the basket, a type of player that Jasikevicius did not like at all and with that Barça did not have in recent years.
The one who is already a new Barça player, as long as there are no surprises in the medical examination, is Joel Parra (2.02m), who will sign a four-season contract. The Joventut youth squad was one of the most coveted pieces on the market due to his age, his potential and his versatility, and he has ended up accepting Barça’s offer, which will pay Joventut the million euros of his clause. The agreement could not be delayed for long since on July 10 the player ceased to have a termination clause and the negotiation should have been directly with the black-green club. Barça will be able to amortize the payment in the four years of the contract, which will cushion the impact on their accounts.
Parra, international with Spain and champion of the last Eurobasket, is a forward with an innate ability to play closer to the basket, capable of occupying the positions of 3 and 4 with ease.
While waiting to finalize all the planned operations, in the initial plan of the Barcelona basketball rectors, the former player from La Penya would occupy the position of forward in the Grimau squad, so they are still looking for a power forward to cover the Mirotic hollow. And here a recurring last name appears very strongly. The chosen one is Juancho Hernangómez (Madrid, 1995), who is still without a team in the NBA, and whom Barça hopes to finish convincing with the arrival of his brother. The youngest of the Hernangómez family is also very popular at the Palau and his arrival would be another blow to the blaugrana table. Although there are advanced conversations between the parties, the club has not yet submitted a formal offer. Barça has Luke Sikma, a player for Alba Berlin, in their portfolio, in case the negotiation does not come to fruition.
At the same time, they are working on the incorporation of a point guard or an escort, playing with the Jokubaitis wild card and pending what happens with Cory Higgins, but after Punter’s refusal, the economic effort has been refocused on the Hernangómez so it is they shuffle riskier bets for this position.
