CHICAGO — At the Knicks’ Christmas Eve practice, center Willy Hernangomez got clocked by assistant coach David Bliss during a one-on-one drill. The blow caused a big welt on his right cheek. It swelled up, got infected and the normally handsome Hernangomez wasn’t ready for a modeling gig on Christmas.
“I was worried — national TV game,’’ Hernangomez said jokingly.
Hernangomez didn’t have to worry. He never got on the court during the holiday game nor did he play Wednesday. Hernangomez now has not played in 10 of the last 11 games and his situation is getting harder for him to accept. He is squarely third fiddle to emerging starting center Enes Kanter and backup Kyle O’Quinn — at least until the Feb. 9 trade deadline.
The effects of the center logjam grew in absurdity when Joakim Noah was inactive against the Bulls for the second time in two and a half weeks — certainly a blow to the former Bull’s ego.
“It’s been really hard for me,’’ Hernangomez told The Post before the Knicks’ 92-87 loss to the Bulls on Wednesday. “The only thing I know is I work hard every day and try to be ready when they need me. I’m glad to support teammates on the bench because we’re winning now. But it’s been really hard for me. I’ve played 15 games all season. It’s hard. But I’m working hard to be ready. I don’t like my situation. When I have the chance to be on court I’ll try to use it.’’
According to sources, the Knicks still consider Hernangomez, 23, a part of the future. If this stretch of 16 of 20 games on the road tosses the Knicks out of the playoff picture, they certainly will step up their bid to trade O’Quinn at the deadline and open up playing time for the Spanish center who is Kristaps Porzingis’ best friend.
After not playing against Memphis on Dec. 6, his compatriot and Grizzlies center Marc Gasol told Herangomez to stay patient. It’s becoming harder. Hernangomez admitted “something is going to happen for sure’’ down the road to alleviate the glut.
When asked if he wants to remain here at the trade deadline, Hernangomez said, “I want to play. I want to play. I really want to be here. I love New York. KP is here. But I want to play.
“I’m young, it’s my second year. I have to play to get better. I’ve been working really hard every day. Everything I do I is 100 percent.”
The Knicks management team of president Steve Mills and GM Scott Perry still view Hernangomez as a building block — a first-team all-rookie center who has a lot of low-post game. Mills was the one who lobbied for the Knicks to trade with Philadelphia for Hernangomez’s rights. While scouting Porzingis in 2015, Mills noticed the Latvian’s sidekick as a potential legit big man.
In late October, Mills said of Hernangomez’s non-playing status: “This is part of Willy’s development. He’s a guy who’s going to be with us the next three years, and we have a lot of time to work with him, and he’s going to be part of who we are.”
Of course, that was before Kanter started playing like an All-Star.
“It’s been hard for me and all of our guys,’’ Hernangomez said. “We have one of the best team of big guys in the league. KOQ, Enes, Joakim. Other teams don’t have really big guys. It’s been hard. It’s hard for Jo and me. Something is going to happen for sure. Right now we’re winning. We have great chemistry but you never know.’’
In 15 games, mostly in garbage time, Hernangomez is averaging 5.3 points and 3.4 rebounds on 57.8 percent shooting. In the last 11 games, he has logged just 5:34 of action, all in a blowout loss in Charlotte.
League sources said Hernangomez still has decent trade value. Noah is untradeable for now because of his $72 million pact. O’Quinn is helping the team win with his grit and probably helping his trade value. One player the Bulls are potentially looking to trade is Nikola Mirotic, who has sparked Chicago’s 8-2 turnaround but is willing to agree to waive his no-trade clause after his ugly fight with teammate Bobby Portis.
Tim Hardaway Jr. said he hopes to be cleared to run next week and coach Jeff Hornacek still is eyeing a January return after Tuesday’s latest reevaluation.
The Knicks announced Wednesday that Hardaway will “continue to be reevaluated weekly.” In a statement, the team said Hardaway “is making consistent progress in his rehabilitation. He has increased his on court activities.”
“Hopefully I’ll be able to run next week, hopefully,’’ Hardaway Jr. said. “We’ll see [after] getting reevaluated next week and see how it goes. If we’re able to run without restrictions, we’ll see how that goes and move forward.”