After just one day of training camp (and a successful summer league), it's already clear that the Portland Trail Blazers' front office nailed the Yang Hansen pick. From media day to training camp, Hansen has recently been praised by several Blazers players and coaches. Two aspects of his game consistently stand out: his passing ability and feel for the game.
"He's been great -- high IQ, very good passer. I can see him fitting really well with the scheme. He knows how to play," Deni Avdija told Blazers beat reporter Casey Holdahl at training camp.
Head coach Chauncey Billups shared similar thoughts after day one of training camp, but also acknowledged that there's still a learning curve to adjusting to the NBA level as an international rookie.
"He did a good job. He worked really hard. I thought offensively, he set some pretty good screens. Some playmaking ability is out there, but the game is moving really fast. He's not used to the speed of our game yet," Billups said. "But his feel is really high, his IQ is really high, so he doesn't look 'out of sorts' if you will... I thought he had a good day."
The Yang Hansen hype in Portland is real
The most notable praise came from Damian Lillard on media day, who highlighted why Hansen already has what it takes to succeed in the NBA.
"I think he can really play. The first thing that stuck out to me was like, his feel for the game... He just knows how to play. He knows the right pass to make... When he gets the ball in the paint, he knows how to find that space, to get a quality shot off. He's physical," Lillard said. "I like his personality, you know, his personality off the floor, you can tell he has personality on the floor... To me, that shows he has confidence."
Robert Williams III was also aboard the Yang train on media day, saying Hansen was the one player who impressed him the most during offseason workouts.
These quotes all confirm what Blazers fans already saw throughout the summer league. Yes, players and coaches are supposed to say nice things about their teammates. But when everyone is pointing to the same exact traits that make Hansen so special, it's telling.
Billups is right about Hansen needing time to adjust to the speed of the NBA. But Hansen also already understands the game at such a high level that it gives him a significantly higher floor than many initially thought. The Blazers have talked about wanting to emphasize ball movement and unselfish play this season, and Hansen is already looking like the perfect player to help achieve that from day one.