The Portland Trail Blazers' blockbuster trade for Ja Morant is the headliner of their offseason. It was a surprising acquisition to say the least, considering Portland was never involved in Morant trade rumors.
Ultimately, they were willing to overlook his questionable fit on this roster, as they deemed it too good of a value to pass up. But besides the out-of-nowhere Morant deal, the Blazers front office has largely addressed their frontcourt depth this offseason.
Portland reached a three-year, $44 million extension with backup center Robert Williams III. They even brought in external reinforcements, signing Branden Carlson and Micah Potter.
Growing pains continue for Yang Hansen
On the surface, Portland's roster looks wonky following these offseason moves. They have four point guards and four centers. Though they seem content heading into the 2026-27 season with their backcourt logjam still in place, eventually it will be something GM Joe Cronin needs to sort out.
However, the same can't be said for the logjam in the frontcourt, as Yang Hansen's play in the Summer League showed he remains a multi-year project.
Hansen averaged 13.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks in Las Vegas, where Portland finished with a 2-3 record. While that's not discouraging by any means, it's also not enough to change the narrative surrounding Hansen following an underwhelming, and quite frankly, concerningly bad rookie campaign.
The final evolution is Hansen being an offensive hub to initiate the offense for Portland, taking advantage of his elite court vision and basketball IQ. His 4.3 turnovers per game in Summer League show that he's still in his Charmander phase.
Branden Carlson and Micah Potter give Blazers much-needed frontcourt insurance
But while Portland continues to level up its draft gamble, they still need players who can contribute right away. This team finally ended its playoff drought with a 42-win season and will look to build off that with internal improvements paired with Lillard's return and Morant's arrival.
Had they not added Potter and Carlson into the mix, the Blazers would've been vulnerable at the center, despite the consecutive first-round draft investments at the position.
Williams has a case as being the best backup in the association, but he's still injury-prone. Portland did a great job of mitigating that risk through his uniquely structured contract, fully guaranteeing only the first year of his deal. They still needed on-court insurance should something unfortunately happen (again).
Throwing Hansen into the fire in that scenario to spell Donovan Clingan is a potential disaster that the Blazers were right to avoid. They even used Hansen more than they should've in his first season because of untimely injuries.
But now the Blazers have the depth in place to overcome that adversity without having to rely on someone who, as Summer League showed, is still years away from making a meaningful impact in the NBA.
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