The Portland Trail Blazers' decision to extend Robert Williams III was arguably their best move of the entire offseason. They reached a reasonable three-year, $44 million deal, which is even better than that figure suggests, as only the first year is fully guaranteed.
Besides the fact that Portland was able to mitigate injury risk with the uniquely structured deal, another reason it was such a good decision is the uncertainty surrounding Yang Hansen.
He's shown notable progress in this year's summer league compared to last, looking leaner, playing with more confidence, and becoming a more well-rounded offensive weapon beyond just his elite court vision.
Still, it's fair to wonder how much of this he'll be able to get away with against legitimate NBA competition.
Robert Williams III buys Yang Hansen more time to develop
These summer league performances should have Portland excited about the possibility of him eventually reaching his high ceiling, as we are seeing glimpses of what their offense could look like with Hansen as an offensive hub. But that's also extremely far down the road, as Hansen's rookie struggles showed this is a multi-year project the Blazers are taking on.
Portland's front office used this knowledge to guide its offseason decisions, whether it was retaining Williams or under-the-radar signings of Branden Carlson and Micah Potter.
Williams proved to be essential during his relatively healthy season last year, spelling Donovan Clingan as one of the league's best backup bigs. It seemed like Portland finally found a successful formula to manage his injuries, whether it was the minutes restriction or having him sit out back-to-backs.
Hopefully, that remains the case, but Portland also needed insurance.
Hansen isn't ready for that No. 2 spot on the depth chart and could even spend more time with the Rip City Remix now that the Blazers actually have the luxury of health and depth. They didn't want to throw him into the fire last season, but Tiago Splitter had no choice at times, with Portland being one of the most injured teams in the league.
While we've seen progress from the 21-year-old, they will continue to patiently bring him along as a team that is straddling two timelines. Having Williams around for at least three more years is key to making all of this work, allowing Portland to build on its postseason appearance while buying time for Hansen to be ready to contribute to a playoff-caliber team.
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