The Portland Trail Blazers were heavily scouting Yang Hansen for two years prior to their draft selection that shocked the NBA. Portland's front office clearly saw something special in Hansen that no other team did, at least to the extent to which they felt confident in his talent translating from the CBA to the NBA. This season, the rest of the league will finally see why the Blazers decided to take a projected second-round pick with the No. 16 overall selection.
The Blazers saw what no other team did in Yang Hansen
They already got a brief glimpse of Hansen's unique skillset throughout the summer and so far in preseason. In Hansen's four summer league games, he averaged 10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.2 blocks on 46/33/88 shooting splits. He's averaged relatively similar numbers through two preseason games so far with 10.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist, and 1.5 blocks.
These aren't eye-popping numbers by any means. Still, the eye test should be putting the entire league on notice.
Despite a limited sample size, Hansen has already displayed a rare skillset for a center with his combination of basketball IQ, ball-handling, footwork, passing, rim protection, and floor spacing. He's fitting in perfectly with the Blazers' offense, whether it's crafty post moves, initiating fastbreaks, setting solid screens, or complementing Portland's backcourt with timely backdoor passes.
Many criticized the Blazers and general manager Joe Cronin for their draft "reach," but Hansen is already making them look genius for this unconventional selection. He's not the project he was perceived to be, and he's showing that he's ready to make an immediate impact as a rookie, with Chauncey Billups likely to have him spell Donovan Clingan in the center rotation.
The risk associated with taking Hansen pertained to how he would adjust to the speed of the NBA and whether his strengths would translate. The floor is higher than expected, largely because his elite basketball IQ allows him to impact winning in multiple aspects even when he doesn't have the ball -- a beneficial trait to have early on in his career until he develops enough to become a reliable offensive hub.
Still, the thing that will make the rest of the league regret passing on this special prospect is Hansen's ceiling. Picks in the mid-first round constantly don't pan out. You might as well take a home run swing on someone who can potentially return top-five draft value.
The Blazers are a quietly deep team, but still need to add more star talent to their roster. That's why we absolutely love this pick for them. Hansen would be a great fit anywhere, but we're glad that Portland's front office was ahead of the curve.