The Portland Trail Blazers concluded an underwhelming Summer League, leaving Las Vegas with a 2-3 record. With no draft picks to show after their lottery-protected first-round pick was conveyed to the Chicago Bulls, all eyes were again on the enigma that is Yang Hansen.
Overall, it was a productive summer league for Hansen, who finished with 13.0 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 1.5 blocks in 24.4 minutes per game. However, that doesn't necessarily mean it was an overly successful one.
The highs remain high, and the lows remain low. Turnovers continue to be an issue, as he averaged 4.3 per game. That's concerning, seeing as the best-case outcome for Hansen to reach his ceiling is being utilized as an offensive hub for Portland.
Yang Hansen remains a multi-year project for Portland
We saw improvement from Hansen from one year to the next, which is really all you can ask at this point for the 21-year-old. He's playing with more confidence, looks to be in better shape, and is even attacking off the dribble depending on matchups. But after seeing how little Hansen's summer league play translated to his rookie season, it's hard to leave this feeling that the multi-year project narrative has changed in any meaningful way.
The issue with Hansen capitalizing on matchups in the summer is that none of these scenarios are realistic when he faces legitimate NBA-level competition in the regular season. The things he gets away with don't translate.
If Hansen is playing with a size advantage, he's able to utilize his crafty footwork and look over the top of defenses to unlock that Nikola Jokic (lite) aspect of his game. Not to mention, the speed of the game allows him to hide on the court far better.
When it comes to NBA play, he's a traffic cone from a speed/agility standpoint but just another big man from a size standpoint. In fact, he even loses the physicality battle more often than not.
That's why, despite the progress shown, this wasn't an overly successful summer league. Until Hansen proves the strengths and weaknesses of his game can effectively translate to meaningful games, Portland remains in the same dilemma as before.
With Hansen so far from playing to his strengths as that offensive hub in the NBA, he needs to find a way to impact the game as a role player.
That's the dilemma for the Blazers, who have to be encouraged by what they see for Hansen as a long-term project but still left wondering how he's ever going to scale down his role to fit into their plans at the next level.
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