One of the most urgent questions the Utah Jazz had entering the first day of the NBA’s free agency period on Thursday was whether to guarantee the contract of forward Juancho Hernangomez for next season or let him become a free agent.
With a decision deadline of 5 p.m. Thursday, The Athletic’s Shams Charania and Tony Jones reported a few hours before it that the Jazz will waive Hernangomez.
Utah is waiving forward Juancho Hernangomez, sources tell me and @Tjonesonthenba.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2022
The 6-foot-9, 214-pound Hernangomez was traded to the Jazz in February as part of the deal that sent Joe Ingles to the Portland Trail Blazers, and was largely seen as a throw-in to make the trade work.
The 26-year-old excelled in his role for Utah, however, becoming an important reserve.
That said, Hernangomez would have been due $7.3 million for next season if not waived before Thursday evening, and the Jazz are in a numbers crunch this offseason.