The enormous hype initially surrounding Yang Hansen has relatively died down, and now all the Portland Trail Blazers are left with is a third-string center.
At least it's a position of need! Oh wait, no, they stole Donovan Clingan in the draft the year prior.
Portland paid a steep price with the shocking Hansen draft gamble, considering the opportunity cost of prospects they missed out on. Cedric Coward is the direct connection, since Portland ultimately sent him to the Memphis Grizzlies with their No. 11 overall selection.
Had the Blazers' front office stayed the course and drafted the consensus best prospect available, their rebuild would be in much better shape. Instead, it still feels as though their roster remains a key piece or two away from being considered a legitimate threat to come out of the Western Conference.
Blazers continue to pay the price for their Yang Hansen pick
The reality is, the Blazers continue to pay the price for their Hansen draft decision.
They had to factor their multi-year project at center into their offseason moves, particularly when it came to bolstering the frontcourt. Despite the consecutive first-round picks at the position, Portland reached a three-year, $44 million extension with Robert Williams III. They also added more frontcourt depth, including Branden Carlson, Micah Potter, and most recently, Jeremy Sochan.
The fact that they have to go out of their way to find insurance for Hansen, who, at best, will still be nothing more than a backup center to Clingan, suggests this may not have been the right draft decision.
It's still too early to declare Hansen a bust at just 21 years old. But it's already clear that if Hansen does pan out, it won't be until later in his career, when he has the physical tools and confidence to match his already impressive skill set and basketball IQ.
That's the aspect former assistant Blazers general manager Mike Schmitz and the rest of the front office appear to have overlooked. Schmitz, now the general manager of the Dallas Mavericks under Masai Ujiri, has previously discussed how his player evaluation has evolved through the years to match the modern NBA.
Relatively out-of-shape players like Nikola Jokic and even Luka Doncic are the league's superstars, showing how the league is trending towards skill set, IQ, and positional size rather than raw athleticism. After all, there's a reason Schmitz now has that seat and not Nico Harrison, who infamously valued Anthony Davis over Doncic in that shocking deal with the Los Angeles Lakers that ultimately cost him his job.
Hansen checked all those boxes in terms of strengths, suggesting there was enough upside to justify a first-round value. However, Portland largely overlooked the weaknesses and floor in this evaluation.
What Hansen got away with in the CBA, Summer League, and G League isn't translating well to the speed and physicality of the NBA. It's been so bad to the point where Hansen could realistically be out of the league in a few years.
Then again, he has the China market and financial benefits that come from keeping him around.
Blazers' new ownership makes it harder to walk away from Yang Hansen
New Blazers owner Tom Dundon has said he's not going to play Hansen simply because he gets views, adding he'll have to earn it just like everyone else. But minutes and a roster spot are two different things entirely.
In an interview with HoopsHype, Blazers insider Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report discussed how the new Blazers ownership will play a role in Hansen's future. Highkin believes Hansen is here for the long haul since his presence on the roster factored into the minority owners' decision to invest in the Blazers in the first place.
"At the press conference to introduce the new ownership group, Andrew Cherng, who co-founded Panda Express with his wife, was asked why he invested in the Blazers. He said he's Chinese, he likes that the Blazers have a Chinese player, and he sees a lot of business opportunities in China because of that."
"One of the minority owners said that on the record," Highkin continued. "And then Sheel Tyle, the other public-facing member of the group, did an interview with The Athletic and talked about wanting to make the Blazers into Asia's team. He had dinner with Yao Ming, who talked about how popular Hansen is."
"So you've got one minority owner saying he only invested because they had a Chinese player, and another saying he wants to make them Asia's team. I think it's pretty clear (Yang) Hansen is very much a part of this organization going forward."
The Blazers can't go back in time, pick Coward, and call it a day by adding a valuable and much-needed 3-and-D wing. But now the concern is they are going to continue doubling down on that Hansen draft investment.
We've already seen that play out this offseason with their logjam of centers to cover for his inability to make an immediate impact. We'll likely see that continue going forward, regardless of how Hansen performs, given how important he was to the minority owners' decision to invest in this franchise.
Portland is already paying the price in the short term, heading into the season with a concerningly low number of wings coming off the bench. This may not have been a financial decision when the Blazers drafted Hansen, but it's trending that way now. The longer he looks out of place in the NBA and struggles to crack Portland's rotation, the harder it will be to play this off as anything other than basketball decision.
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