The Portland Trail Blazers shocked the NBA world with their draft-day gamble on Yang Hansen. At the time of the selection, Portland's front office received a lot of criticism for taking a widely projected second-rounder at pick No. 16. Hansen quickly silenced those critics with an impressive summer league performance, averaging a well-rounded 10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.8 assists.
Many viewed Hansen as a developmental selection from which a rebuilding Blazers team could benefit down the road. But that was never their intention behind this pick.
"We'd feel comfortable putting him in a game right now. He's that good. I don't see this as a project type of situation. But it's a crowded room," Chauncey Billups said.
Trading Robert Williams is the obvious answer to Portland's center logjam
To say that Portland's center rotation is a crowded room is an understatement. They had five centers following the selection of Hansen, investing in the position with consecutive first-round picks. Joe Cronin somewhat addressed that logjam by buying out former starter Deandre Ayton, clearing the path for Donovan Clingan and Hansen.
But Billups had another telling comment after the Hansen selection, noting that he doesn't envision playing the two young centers together. That establishes a clear center hierarchy and makes Robert Williams III even more expendable, as there are not enough minutes to go around at the five spot.
Williams is on an expiring $13.3 million deal this upcoming season. He's still incredibly impactful when healthy as a lob threat and elite rim protector, which is why Portland values him highly. But they shouldn't.
Unfortunately, Williams' career has been derailed by injuries. He's only played a total of 26 games in his two years in Portland and is too unreliable to commit to beyond this season.
The issue with Williams is that finding a trade partner willing to surrender assets of any value for such an injury-prone player is challenging. But Portland doesn't need to trade Williams right away. They could elect to take a similar approach as last season, building up his trade value by proving to teams that he's healthy before February's trade deadline. That plan actually worked last season, but the Blazers fell for their own trap, deciding to keep Williams because he was healthy and impactful (at the time).
But Portland's roster situation has changed -- the combination of Hansen's arrival and Williams' expiring deal makes it more logical for them to make a trade this time around.