Blazers’ Yang Hansen draft gamble just proved to be a genius robbery

The Portland Trail Blazers’ selection of Yang Hansen with the No. 16 pick is one of those draft moments that just keeps looking better with hindsight. Especially when, as it turns out, they basically needed to take him that early.

According to the general manager of Hansen’s team in China, the Qingdao Eagles, the big man had a promise from the Brooklyn Nets at No.19 (h/t Nets Daily)—which means Portland undercut them by just three spots on the board:

This is yet another form of vindication for the Blazers. Going for Hansen just outside the lottery, after moving off the No. 11 pick, was almost universally considered a baffling reach. A strong performance during summer-league play significantly helped the optics, but it didn’t altogether reinvent them. 

ESPN’s Jeremy Woo surveyed 20 anonymous NBA executives coming out of Las Vegas, and Hansen received the second-most votes in the “Which pick was the draft’s biggest reach?” category. Granted, this means the 20-year-old racked up just four total nominations out of the polled pool. But the sentiment reinforces a widely shared one: that even if Portland landed a legitimate difference-maker in Hansen, it underplayed the hand it was dealt by not trading further down to get him.

So much for that.

Other teams clearly had Yang Hansen on their first-round radar

This Nets tidbit confirms what many others already suspected: Hansen would not have slipped past the first round, like many mock drafts and big boards predicted. If he was on Brooklyn’s radar at No. 19, you can bet at least one or two other front offices were sniffing around him somewhere in the 20s.

Portland’s move from No. 11 to No. 16 looks infinitely better as a result. Not only did the Memphis Grizzlies end up sending an additional first-round pick (via Orlando) and two second-rounders to jump five spots, but the Blazers clearly had a better grasp of where Hansen would come off the board than most believed. This trade isn’t just a testament to the front office and scouting department having the gall and conviction to go after their guy. It is proof of their transactional savvy.

Of course, it helps that Hansen balled out for most of the Las Vegas Summer League. The passing vision and IQ were in full display, he had a few physical finishes around the basket, his three-point shot is operable enough to be more than a gimmick, and whatever the over/under is on his rookie-year block rate, it’s not high enough.

Which isn’t to say he was perfect. Hansen’s offensive physicality waxed and waned, and must be more consistent. The same goes for his aggression on the boards. And despite his highlight-worthy moments on defense when working near the basket or in drop coverage, he will be an early target for opposing offenses in space.

Still, this is far from damning stuff. Hansen is young, and has already flashed more immediate value and long-term potential relative to draft-night evaluations. Equally important, the Blazers taking him at No. 16 is no longer just a shrewd reach, or a robbery-in-the-making. It was also apparently necessary.