Yang Hansen was universally projected to be a second-round pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Joe Cronin and the Portland Trail Blazers' front office had other plans. They traded back from pick No. 11 with the Memphis Grizzlies to take Hansen at No. 16 overall. It was as far back as Cronin felt comfortable going -- he didn't want to risk trading back too far to where there was even a possibility that Hansen wasn't available by the time Portland was on the clock.
Portland's draft 'reach' was actually them being ahead of the curve
The vast majority of analysts criticized that decision. Here were the Blazers' draft grades from five major sports outlets:
- ESPN: C-
- The Athletic: C+
- Yahoo Sports: C+
- CBS Sports: C
- The Ringer: D
The worst grade came from The Ringer's J. Kyle Mann, who wasn't fond of the value here for Portland.
"I figured the Blazers would be interested in a skilled big man to serve as a fulcrum for their wing-heavy roster, but safe to say this is … not who I assumed that big man would be. Yang is a gifted passer and should mesh well with the backcourt in Portland, which acquired this pick in a trade down with Memphis, but this is much, much higher than any other team likely would’ve selected Yang. (I had him 40th on my board.) Hmm," Mann wrote.
Portland was projected to select Michigan's Danny Wolf in a previous mock draft on The Ringer. Mann had a similar process throughout as Portland, noting how well Wolf's rare passing ability for a big man would complement their athletic backcourt.
Hansen serves a similar purpose as a potential offensive hub once he's developed enough to take on an increased role. He's already shown flashes of that being the case during his limited sample size in preseason, recently finding high-flyer Shaedon Sharpe on a backdoor cut.
Portland's rookie has yet to play a meaningful game in the NBA, but it's already clear that these grades would be much higher in retrospect. They, along with the general criticism of the pick, seemed to be more based on the "reach" Portland made and how they didn't maximize value with the pick, instead of focusing on Hansen's fit and intriguing skillset. Hansen is an exceptional talent with his combination of basketball IQ, footwork, and passing. He's everything people envisioned Derik Queen to be as a player at the NBA level, but with much more size and rim protection.
Credit Cronin and the Blazers for being bold with this selection. The fact that they went against the grain to take Hansen makes the reward that much sweeter.