Portland Trail Blazers general manager Joe Cronin entered the 2025 NBA Draft with a plan that no one outside the organization saw coming. The Blazers stole Yang Hansen, taking a worthwhile gamble on a widely projected second-round pick with the No. 16 overall selection.
Although it's still a shock around the NBA world, this plan was actually two years in the making for Portland. Cronin addressed the media after the unconventional selection, saying that Hansen was the target heading into the draft because of how impressed he left the Blazers scouts during one of his under-18 events and a follow-up trip to China.
But one thing that Cronin said during that press conference was particularly telling:
"We were actually hoping he'd be in last year's draft. He didn't declare last year, so we continued to scout him this past season."
Yang Hansen was always the Blazers' plan
The consensus after the selection was that the Blazers made the biggest reach of the entire draft. Yang's Summer League play with the Blazers immediately silenced skeptics, showing flashes of "Chinese Jokic" with his basketball IQ, court vision, and footwork.
Now that Hansen has already justified the pick, the question turns from why Portland made this pick to what they'll do about their center logjam.
They somewhat addressed that issue with the buyout of Deandre Ayton, who landed with the Los Angeles Lakers. Still, there are only 48 minutes to go around at the center position. Since Donovan Clingan and Hansen can't effectively play together due to concerns about speed and floor spacing, it's apparent that one needs to go.
It's a good problem to have, as Portland has hit on consecutive picks with two players they valued highly during their respective drafts. After the Clingan selection, Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report even noted he had a "strong suspicion" [subscription required] that the UConn big man was Portland's top-ranked prospect heading into the draft.
But would Hansen have been ranked even higher?
Hansen went nine picks later than Clingan the following year, but the strength of draft classes needs to be considered. Not to mention, just because that's where Hansen was taken doesn't mean that's how Portland valued him -- they traded back to maximize assets, with Cronin only going as far back to the point where he'd still feel confident that Hansen would be available.
The Blazers don't immediately have to decide between building around Clingan's floor or Hansen's ceiling. But eventually, they'd be wise to better balance their roster construction. And based on Cronin's words -- wanting Hansen in the same draft as Clingan -- he may have already hinted at his preference for Portland's long-term center.