Why did the Trail Blazers Draft HANSEN YANG?

Why did the Trail Blazers Draft HANSEN YANG?

why did the Portland Trailblazers draft Yang Hansen How’s it going everyone I hope you guys are all having a great day so far Today we need to talk about the Portland Trailblazers and the wild draft night they had last night Yesterday was the first round of the 2025 NBA draft and the Portland Trailblazers held the 11th pick but they made a few moves and made a pretty questionable pick and we need to talk about that Before the video gets started though guys please make sure to hit that subscribe button if you’re new to the channel and have never seen one of my videos My name is Devin I cover all things Portland Trailblazers and the NBA So if you like either of those hit the subscribe button comment below your thoughts on the video and like the video It helps out and it helps support the channel a lot So the Blazers had the 11th overall pick and a lot of people expected them to take a guy like Derek Queen or Carter Bryan or someone else But instead the Blazers ended up trading it with the Memphis Grizzlies for pick number 16 a future first round pick and two second round picks Now when this happened at first I was actually really stoked that the Blazers did this Initially before Shames reported what the trade was I was kind of hoping the Blazers were pairing that pick with Jeremy Grant to acquire someone else from Memphis Not sure if that would be a young guy like Gigi Jackson or someone older Maybe they did a bigger trade with Jeremy Grant and somehow brought back Jiren Jackson Jr or whatever but I had high hopes for it And overall this trade was pretty good Given how the draft had played out up to this point it seemed pretty obvious that there were going to be at least a handful of pretty good and talented players still available at 16 And so the fact that the Blazers were able to acquire another future pick and two seconds was pretty good value in my opinion So then we get to pick number 16 and a lot of people expect the Blazers to draft a guy like Rasher Fleming or one of the other top prospects available at that spot but instead the Blazers go out and do something completely unconventional and draft Yang Hansen from China Now I don’t know about you guys but before Adam Silver announced his name I had never heard of this guy Now given I’m not the biggest draft guy in the whole world I usually only really start keeping track of the draft right around March Madness and then try to follow players up until the draft but I had never heard of Yang before And the fact that the Blazers took this guy at pick 16 was one of the biggest reaches ever in NBA draft history If you look across a lot of people who study draft and do this stuff for a living most people had Yang going somewhere in the second round between picks 35 and 50 And so the fact that the Portland Trailblazers drafted him at 16 is just wild And so before we get into my thoughts on Yang as a player and what I think his fit is going to be on this team let’s talk about who he is Yang Hansen was born on June 26th 2005 And so if you’re watching this video the day it’s uploaded today’s his birthday He just turned 20 years old He’s 7 foot one with a 72 wingspan so his arms are definitely a little bit short for someone that size He weighs about 250 pounds and plays center position and is coming over from China where he played with the Quing Dao Eagles in the CBA which is just the Chinese Basketball Association And of course yesterday he was drafted 16th overall by the Portland Trailblazers Now as you guys can see by these highlights on screen he’s quite the player He’s not a guy that just is a slow big heavy center that doesn’t move well and doesn’t get creative Some of his biggest strengths are actually his passing his IQ and court vision which sounds a lot like Jokic if you’re asking me More of that later though Let’s talk about some of Yang’s stats in these past years So the last two years in the CBA have been really big for him As in the 2023 and 2024 season he played 51 games and averaged 1510 and three with almost 2 and 1/2 blocks per game He shot 55% from the field 22% from the three-point line So that definitely needs a bit of work And then 62% from the free throw line But then just this last season he came back averaging better numbers in every single category He played 45 games and averaged 16.6 points 10 rebounds three assists and almost three blocks per game And he improved his shooting numbers shooting 58% from the field 33% from the three-point line and 67% from the free throw line And so over his last two years playing in China and in the CBA he averaged 15.8 points 10.7 rebounds three and a half assists and two and a half blocks And that’s shooting 57% from the field 29% from the three and 65% from the free throw line Now those numbers might not sound super crazy and who knows how his skill set will translate into the NBA but that just goes to show you the kind of lock down defense and the kind of guy he can become He could definitely become a 10-10 guy in the league which given his other skill sets if his scoring doesn’t get up past you know 15 points per game and he still averages 10 rebounds a couple blocks couple assists then that’s a pretty locked down player that I’m stoked to have Yang Hansen has been on the comeup for actually a couple of years The Portland Trailblazers said that they’ve been scouting him for 2 years now even sending Mike Schmidz and our other assistant GM over to China to scout him just a couple years ago And it sounds like even last year the Portland Trailblazers in the front office had their eye on him hoping that he would declare for the draft but of course we know that he didn’t And so I think they were pretty happy to get him this year Yang also has quite a handful of accolades over his time in the CBA as both years he played over there He was an all-star he was the rookie of the year in 2024 he was the defensive player of the year in 2024 and he played for the all CBA domestic first team both years he was there in both 2024 and 2025 I kind of teased the idea of him having a similar skill set to Joic but it’s kind of true His offensive skill and footwork is super advanced He has soft touch around the rim an advanced post move and even a bit of ball handling skills He has great passing and vision and one of the best passing big men outside of the NBA And there’s a reason a lot of people draw comparisons to Joic One of Joic’s biggest pluses and skills as a player is of course his vision and ability to pass And there’s a bit of that with Yang Hansen as well He’s also great at rim protection averaging over two blocks per game with great timing and discipline around the basket as a whole his two years in the CBA And his rebounding and IQ is a big skill of his as there’s strong fundamentals in boxing out and positioning and leading to consistent double-digit rebounds every single night he’s on the court And of course at 7 foot1 he already has an NBA ready frame Being 250 lbs he kind of already has the body type and the tools to adapt to a more physical NBA There are some cons with him though that I think people have questioned and why he was projected to go deeper in the second round Some of that being which his limited athleticism He kind of lacks top tier agility and speed and especially in pick and roll defense And his just overall physicality While he might have the frame he’s able to be moved off of his spot by stronger players from time to time and needs to add a bit of strength and muscle if he really wants to compete in the NBA level physicality He’s also been one to turn over the ball a bit And so while he might have good ball handles sometimes he holds the ball a bit too long or overthinks passes when he’s under pressure and that just leads to turnovers his perimeter defense is also a bit of a weakness for him as he kind of struggles when he’s switched on the quicker guards And so his lateral movement is definitely a bit limited in that sense But I think a lot of those things can definitely be ironed out and helped because it seems like the plan at least for now apparently from Joe Cronin is that Yang Hansen is going to be playing in the GLeague initially and depending on what they do with his fit on this team he might be down there his whole rookie season But I guess we’ll just have to see That kind of leads me into his fit on this team What does it look like I think that’s kind of the biggest red flag and why a lot of people were confused when we drafted him where we already have five centers on the team between Aen Robert Williams Donovan Klingan of course who he drafted seventh overall last year Duop Breath and now Yang Hansen So we have five centers What are we going to do with all of them I think this definitely shows that there’s an Aen or Robert Williams trade on the horizon because no matter how much you like this guy if you’re not going to be able to give him minutes every night then there’s no point in drafting him I think there is a level to it where if the Blazers think he’s going to have to play in the G-League for a while then they might not be in as big of a rush to get rid of all the centers we already have Obviously Klingan they see as the center of the future Duop Breath could be tossed in to add a little bit of value to a trade so he’s not cemented here or anything And then you have guys like Aan who are kind of the big trade targets or at least one of the big trade targets for the Portland Trailblazers right now And then you have Robert Williams who’s only played 26 games for the Blazers his two years here And so if the Blazers trade one or two of our centers then I think there is a clear path to giving Yang Hansen some minutes throughout the year And that’s next season as in the 2026 2027 season because Robert Williams and DeAndrean are all on expiring contracts now And so even though the Blazers have five centers on the roster currently if they’re going to trade one or two of them and then maybe Dop Breath just is packaged in with another trade or isn’t resigned next year then I can understand the pick Now I just want to make it clear though by no means am I trying to justify this move for the Portland Trailblazers because no matter how you look at it this was probably the wrong pick Even if Yang Hansen turns out to be the next coming of Joic or Yaoing and he’s one of the best players the NBA has ever seen sure the Blazers would have gotten lucky there But in the moment when we didn’t know anything about it they made the wrong move There was much better talent still available there at 16 and they easily could have traded back in order to get Yang if they really thought he was their guy The Blazers obviously traded back five picks and Joe Cronin said they didn’t feel comfortable trading back any further than 16 But given where all the mock drafts were I don’t think Yang would have gone in the first round if it wasn’t for the Blazers Now of course you never know but when you look at roster fit and who else they could have taken at 16 I just don’t think there’s a way you can justify this being a smart or good pick Now my hope here and I hope this is your hope as well is that Joe Cronin makes a few moves to smooth out the roster a bit and he does it fast because between this pick and the Drew Holiday trade this roster is looking a bit clunky and a bit of a mess But you don’t draft a guy 16th to be your fourth or fifth string center And so to me that just screams that there’s a trade on the horizon that maybe we just don’t know about yet Maybe it’s just not in the cards yet But it definitely tells you that’s the direction they want to go I just don’t see the Blazers even Joe Cronin drafting Yang Hansen at 16 expecting him to be a fourth string center It just doesn’t make sense But Yang Hansen as a player is actually someone I really like I love his archetype of player I’ve always loved those big men who can move quickly who are good at passing Maybe they’re not the most flashy maybe they’re not dunking the ball left and right but they’re able to pass they’re smart and they make everyone around them better And I’ve mentioned it a few times and people joke but he truly is similar to Jokic in his skill set And now who knows maybe he ends up being a guy like Alprince Senun who has a similar skill set to Joic but obviously isn’t Jokic And I also like this player because he has an insanely high ceiling but he has a bit of a low floor right now And so who knows how his skills will transfer to the NBA level Of course coming over from Euro League that’s kind of one of the biggest questions is how will the competition over there compare to the competition over here for him And so even though I really like his archetype of a player and I’m very interested in his skill set and how he’s going to develop this is one of those picks that I would have absolutely loved and thought it was a home run if the Blazers drafted him around the 30 to 45 range But the fact that they made moves and traded him almost in the lottery is just pretty insane And regardless of how he pans out this is an extremely high-risk highreward move for Cronin and Schmidz and the rest of the front office because you don’t make a move like this unless you’re super confident right This is one of those moves that Joe Cronin and Mike Schmidz had to have just said “You know what We know our player We love Yang Hansen We’re going to take the swing for him.” And regardless of what the rest of the NBA thinks regardless of what the rest of the fans think we think this is the right move And so in that sense I got to respect them a bit for it I really hope they’re right And if they’re wrong that could honestly cost them their job And so we’ll see how Yang Hansen pans out But I’m super excited for him I’m super excited to see how he fits in alongside the rest of the team and I’m really excited for the rest of the moves the Blazers make this off seasonason Overall Yang is a rare prospect a seven-footer with elite vision passing instincts and touch around the rim While his mobility and physicality remains concerns his basketball IQ his size and his potential as a high post playmaker makes him a valuable developmental piece for the Blazers And with the right team system and strength training he could definitely become a versatile and unique contributor in the modern NBA and to your Portland Trailblazers If you do want to be kept up to date on all the moves the Blazers make and who they decide to trade for or pick up or cut or whatever moves they make please hit that subscribe button turn on the notification bell so you never miss an upload Like the video and comment below your thoughts on Yang Hansen That’s all I have for you guys I hope you guys all have a great rest of your day Don’t forget to hit that subscribe button and I’ll see you next time Peace

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V I D E O S T O W A T C H N E X T :

Click here to hear my thoughts on the Jrue Holiday TRADE – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wwwu-zXLDN8&t=45s

The Next NBA STAR – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYYQe-Qkcsw&t=8s

Who MUST The Trail Blazers Trade? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3A52Fx4995I

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