The Portland Trail Blazers had their first summer league game on Friday, falling 81-79 to the Phoenix Suns.
Unfortunately, their regrettable Larry Nance Jr. led to Portland finally conveying its lottery-protected first-round pick to the Chicago Bulls. It remains to be seen how disastrous that truly is in what already looks to be a historically strong class, though for what it's worth, Chicago rookie Dailyn Swain, selected No. 15 overall with Portland's pick, struggled in his summer league debut.
The headliner for the Blazers is still Yang Hansen, who, to say he took over Las Vegas last summer would've been an understatement.
Yang Hansen's brilliant summer league never translated to the regular season
Last year, a Blazers-Grizzlies matchup received 5.2 million viewers back in China on Tencent's free broadcast. For context, No. 1 overall pick and recent Rookie of the Year winner Cooper Flagg's debut with the Mavericks drew 1.1 million American viewers.
The hype only continued to grow as many around the world were all aboard the Hansen train. Portland was immediately criticized for its unconventional draft selection, taking a widely projected second-rounder with its No. 16 overall pick after trading back with the Memphis Grizzlies. That criticism died down at the start of Summer League, as many saw for the first time Hansen's rare skill set and the upside he possessed as a potential offensive hub.
At the time, head coach Chauncey Billups emphasized that the Blazers didn't view Hansen as a project, adding that he expected immediate contribution. Regardless of the drama-filled coaching carousel in Portland, that couldn't have been further from the case with whoever was calling the shots.
Hansen bounced between the G League and NBA, frequently looking out of place in the latter. The primary issue was that Hansen's standout traits are his court vision and elite basketball IQ, which Portland can't really tap into when he's nothing more than a fringe role player.
That's why the summer league may not be quite as exciting for Blazers fans this time around. Not only are they missing a coveted rookie prospect to root for, but they've also seen this story with Hansen before.
He finished the game against Phoenix with a respectable 12 points, nine rebounds, and four assists in 26 minutes. But honestly, does that really change anything?
Not to say we don't support Hansen in his development. In fact, we think it's too premature to declare him a bust despite the disastrous rookie season. Still, to put any stock into what Hansen accomplishes this summer is to ignore what transpired last year.
Blazers fans have seen this story before, and now they know better. Until Hansen proves he's ready to make an impact on a meaningful regular season game, it's wise to temper expectations.
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