Winners and Losers from Toronto Raptors 2022 preseason

Loser: Juancho Hernangomez

Hernangomez, who was signed to a guaranteed contract, will be used heavily in the rotation during the early parts of the season as a byproduct of Chris Boucher and Otto Porter Jr. getting hurt. His preseason was by no means terrible, but he certainly didn’t adhere himself to fans.

While Hernangomez did make 36% of his 3-point attempts, he didn’t show a very diverse offensive game beyond pulling up from deep. His interior defense hasn’t been amazing throughout his career, and it looks like he is not going to be a very positive asset in that area this year.

Juancho Hernangomez must step up for the Toronto Raptors.

Toronto signed Hernangomez with the belief that he was more like the perimeter ace that he was in Minnesota rather than the bench player who was tossed aside with regularity last year. He wasn’t awful, but he definitely didn’t do enough to set himself apart.

While Juancho is still a feel-good story after all of the Bo Cruz hullabaloo and his EuroBasket championship with the Spanish national team, that goodwill can erode very quickly if he doesn’t perform. He’ll be thrown into the fire against some elite defensive teams early in the season.