Altitude 950’s early morning interviews with the Denver Nuggets roll on, this time with Juancho Hernangomez. Juancho was expected to be a large part of Denver’s bench attack but instead was sick for the first month of the season and found himself replaced in the rotation by new addition Trey Lyles. With a rough year under his belt, Hernangomez now has his sights set on regaining a more impactful rotation role. A few comments from his interview.

“Last year was so tough. I’m really thankful for learning about that year and trying to be ready for this year.”

”I try to do my best everytime, when we’re working out and when we practice, and let’s see how I can help this team.”

And here’s what he had to say about playing this style of Denver basketball:

”I love it. Since my first year I love to play this style, I love playing with Joker (Nikola Jokic).”

He also talked about Michael Malone visiting him in Spain, spending that time with Juancho and getting the expectations and mindset right. That Denver would make sure the head coach spends that time with Juancho indicates the value they still place on him. Whether it’s filled by Trey Lyles, a resurgent Tyler Lydon or Hernangomez himself, that hybrid bench-starter stretch big role is important for this team. Here’s hoping Juancho has the good year this year that so many of us expected him to have last year – the Nuggets would be better for it.

Take a listen!