2015 NBA Draft results: Guillermo Hernangomez picked by 76ers, traded to Knicks

Guillermo Hernangomez has been selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the No. 35 pick of the 2015 draft and was then traded to the New York Knicks. Hernangomez will likely stay in his native Spain to develop instead of making the jump to the NBA right away.

A member of the Spanish youth national teams from an early age, Willy, as he’s called, has been on scouts’ radars for years. He’s a product of European powerhouse Real Madrid’s development school and comes from a basketball family, as both his parents competed at a high level and his younger brother is starting his professional career. Hernangomez made his professional debut in 2012-13 before being loaned to Sevilla, where he excelled the following two years.

Hernangomez shared the court with lottery pick Kristaps Porzingis this past season, forming one of the best young big men tandems in Europe. While he posted similar stats than the Latvian power forward, Hernangomez’s lack of elite athleticism caused him to fall on draft boards. He’s still under contract with Real Madrid and will likely return to the club that developed him instead of making the leap to the NBA next season.

Hernangomez is the sort of tall European prospect teams will take a flier on, especially in conjunction with Porzingis, and it makes plenty of sense for the Knicks to scoop up the former after drafting the latter in the first round. But it also signals that that Knicks are likely looking at a longer-term rebuild.