Yang Hansen had the Portland Trail Blazers front office looking genius with his play over the summer, justifying the unconventional No. 16 overall draft selection. That hype has slowly faded with Hansen's underwhelming play at the start of the regular season. However, that hasn't been Hansen's fault, as the Blazers, a rebuilding team, have surprisingly failed to prioritize their first-round pick.
Portland invested two consecutive first-round picks at the center position with Hansen and Donovan Clingan a year prior. In a vacuum, both picks make perfect sense. Clingan was arguably the safest pick in a weak and uncertain draft class with his elite rebounding and rim protection. And because of that floor Clingan provides, Portland could take a high-risk, high-reward gamble on another center in Hansen, a widely projected second-round pick due to concerns surrounding how much of his game would effectively translate from the CBA to the NBA.
Hansen somewhat addressed those concerns with his exciting play in the summer league, averaging 10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.2 blocks per game. But despite the production early on, the Blazers have yet to see whether they are sitting on a true draft gem, because they simply aren't playing him enough to get a significant sample size.
The Trail Blazers must prioritize Yang Hansen
Following the heavily criticized selection, head coach Chauncey Billups emphasized that he didn't view Hansen as a project-type player, but also noted that it was a crowded frontcourt. That made the pick more puzzling as, despite Hansen's upside, the Blazers were already set at the center position with several other needs they had yet to address.
Interim head coach Tiago Splitter, a former center himself, is taking a more patient and reserved approach to Hansen's development. For the most part, Hansen has fallen out of Splitter's rotation, with Portland going with Robert Williams III as the backup to spell Clingan. Portland's promising rookie has played in just 10 of their 19 games this season, averaging 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.1 minutes per game (most of which come in garbage time).
Blazers general manager Joe Cronin has been adamant about Portland taking a long-term approach despite their win-now trade for Jrue Holiday this summer. That's the right mindset as the Blazers are sub-.500 and aren't legitimate playoff threats in the loaded west, but with that being the case, why not play Hansen?
They took an unnecessary draft gamble that literally no one saw coming, not even Hansen himself (he was still eating fried chicken in the stands!) Then, Hansen justifies the decision by showcasing some of the highest upside in the entire draft throughout the summer. Then... Portland doesn't cash in its chips on this draft steal?
Splitter doesn't want to throw Hansen into the fire, but it's exactly what both he and the Blazers need this season. The underlying issue throughout the Blazers' entire rebuild has been their failure to prioritize their young core, with veterans sticking around for too long. They somewhat addressed that with Ayton's buyout, but the fact that Williams is prioritized over Hansen shows that this remains an ongoing issue.
The silver lining is that the Blazers are expected to be more willing to trade Williams at the deadline, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer. Let's hope this comes to fruition, as the Blazers have dug themselves an unnecessary hole with this situation surrounding Hansen, limiting both him and Portland's rebuilding ceiling.