Willy Hernangomez: Confirmed to join Knicks this season

Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek confirmed Friday that Hernangomez would spend the 2016-17 season in the NBA, Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News reports.

Hernangomez still has to sign a contract with the Knicks, but that's likely to occur once the team has finished the bulk of its shopping on the free agent market. With the Knicks already adding Joakim Noah to the frontcourt, Hernangomez will be locked into a reserve role to begin the season. Hornacek said he projects the 2015 second-round pick as a center at the NBA level, meaning he'll have to fight Kyle O'Quinn for the top backup job behind Noah.