At Summer League, there were plenty of reasons for the Portland Trail Blazers to get excited about Yang Hansen, led by his passing. But Sam Vecenie of the Game Theory podcast pointed out the flaws that those buying into the hype may not have wanted to see. He admitted to the positives:
“Lot of hype,” Vecenie said. “Lot of excitement about him. I get it. I understand what people saw at Summer League that made them somewhat enthusiastic with the passing. I think that what I struggle with, with it, is that a lot of it was preordained stuff where he’s just catching at the top and making the pass. And not every big can do that, and it’s really impressive.”
Vecenie also pointed out the problems.
“But a lot of it wasn’t reading and reacting to plays like he’ll have to do in real NBA games,” Vecenie said. “It was, ‘These are set plays that we are running for him to get him rolling.’ I didn’t see much as a scorer, to be honest with you, that got me excited, as it refers to real NBA games. I thought that he scored semi-effectively around the rim, but still only shot 45% from the field. Did make the three threes in the Pelicans game, which was really good, but he’s just not a shooter yet, so I’m a little bit concerned.
“I really didn’t like the defense. I thought that he was completely non-physical at the rim. I thought that he really struggled to deal with any sort of bumps, to be honest. I thought that he fouled a little bit aggressively, and then on offense again, the turnovers were really rough.”
Should fans be concerned about Hansen Yang?
They should be as concerned about Yang as they would be about any other rookie they could have drafted at pick No. 16. The reality of the situation is that few rookies are stars right out of the gate.
Yang may have been very fun at Summer League, particularly because of his passing, but there was a reason he wasn’t a Top 5 pick. The upside is there. Clear as day. But the flaws are there, too.
In the same New Orleans Pelicans game in which Yang’s three-point shooting was put on display, he got cooked on defense by fellow rookie Derik Queen. The ex-Maryland product bodied him in the post, scoring at will, despite being at a size disadvantage.
Yang’s ability to score around the rim, as Vecenie noted, was also questionable. Unless he got a wide open bucket, he wasn’t automatic on post moves.
There’s still plenty of time for Yang to develop. He’s young, and entering a situation where the team clearly believes in him.
But he’s still a rookie. And no amount of hype should distract fans from that reality.