The Portland Trail Blazers invested in Yang Hansen with the No. 16 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. We're just halfway through the 2025-26 season, yet another rookie is already emerging as one the Blazers likely should've selected instead: New Orleans Pelicans' Derik Queen.
The Blazers didn't let the fact that they nailed their Donovan Clingan selection the year prior stop them from continuing to address their center position past summer. But if they wanted to bolster their frontcourt, Queen -- not Hansen -- should've been the selection.
Blazers should've taken Derik Queen instead of Yang Hansen
Portland was frequently projected to take the Maryland product in several mock drafts. Meanwhile, Hansen was a widely projected second-round prospect. There only ended up being two prospects taken between Queen and Hansen (Carter Bryant and Thomas Sorber), yet the difference in career trajectories is night and day.
The Pelicans still grossly overpaid to land Queen, sacrificing an unprotected 2026 first-round pick as a team that currently has the worst record in the entire association at 10-35. But while they should regret the value they received in that trade, they were absolutely spot on about their evaluation of Queen as a prospect.
They clearly saw something special in him worth sacrificing the future for, and we're already seeing that translate to the NBA. Queen currently ranks fourth on the Kia Rookie Ladder behind only Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, and VJ Edgecombe. He's averaging a well-rounded 12.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.3 assists, already emerging as a key offensive hub for New Orleans.
Meanwhile, the Blazers don't even know if they have an NBA-level player in Hansen. Despite the first-round investment, he's struggled to crack Portland's frontcourt rotation, averaging 2.4 points and 1.7 rebounds in 8.3 minutes per game. He's shooting just 29.2% from the field and 16.1% from beyond the arc, which, paired with his lack of foot speed, makes him a significant liability on both ends of the court.
We unfortunately just saw that in Portland's recent win over the Sacramento Kings. The Blazers won 117-110 on the road, yet Hansen finished the contest with a -7, recording two points and two turnovers in nine minutes.
Tiago Splitter has previously stated that he doesn't want to throw Hansen into the fire in terms of his limited role as a rookie, but Portland hasn't had much of a choice with Robert Williams III and Jerami Grant out due to injury. When Hansen has had an increased opportunity, he certainly hasn't helped his case for a more consistent role going forward.
If anything, he keeps making us wonder why the Blazers ever traded back to take him instead of Queen.