The Portland Trail Blazers assigned rookie Yang Hansen to the G League, where he played two games with their affiliate, the Rip City Remix. He had a standout performance in their recent 113-111 loss to the South Bay Lakers, recording an impressive 21 points, nine rebounds, three assists, and three blocks. He even connected on two three-pointers in crunch time, showcasing his ability to space the floor at 7-foot-1.
This was more like the Hansen we saw this summer!
Yang Hansen's ceiling justifies the Blazers' draft decision
He wasn't as dominant in his first game with the Remix, totaling eight points, 13 rebounds, four assists, and one block in their 107-104 win over Khaman Maluach and the Valley Suns. But that's to be expected as Hansen is just 20 years old. Player development isn't linear, and he will inevitably experience growing pains.
For Portland, the primary thing that matters is that Hansen continues to take strides towards reaching that tantalizing ceiling he has as a potential unicorn. That was the case against the South Bay Lakers, as Hansen reminded everyone just why the Blazers were so high on him as a prospect after heavily scouting him for two years.
He's struggled early on for the Blazers, falling out of interim head coach Tiago Splitter's rotation while averaging just 1.8 points in 5.8 minutes per game. But the Blazers are playing the long game with this pick; they can afford to be patient with his development, given they are still years away from making a deep playoff run and still have Donovan Clingan to hold the fort down in the meantime.
Say what you will about the opportunity cost of Portland passing up on prospects such as Cedric Coward or Derik Queen. However, in a vacuum, spending a No. 16 overall pick on Hansen is a valid decision. Time will tell if he figures out how to translate his game to the NBA level; the reality is that mid-first-round picks don't work out all the time. At least with Hansen, if the Blazers are going down, they're going down swinging.
The Blazers are self-aware enough to know that they still need to hit on a star to contend in the loaded Western Conference. For a small market team, the best way to achieve this is through the draft. And despite his slow start, you can still make a strong case that Hansen had the highest ceiling of any available prospect when they were on the clock.