Yang Hansen's brutal self-assessment raises fair question about Blazers frontcourt

Portland Trail Blazers rookie Yang Hansen doesn't beat around the bush. When asked who the most athletic player at Blazers training camp is, he responded with, "Great question... Everyone except me."

A blunt (and funny) assessment of his own game. And while Yang obviously said this tongue-in-cheek, it actually does raise a question about the team's young frontcourt, consisting of him and second-year man Donovan Clingan. Both are tremendously talented, but both possess a similar physical makeup. Will the lack of athleticism in the frontcourt, are the Blazers neglecting an important archetype — especially with a newfound focus on pushing the pace?

Blazers frontcourt lacks a rim-running big man

Well, that's not fully accurate. There is a player like this on the roster — Robert Williams III — but unfortunately, consistent injuries make it impossible to rely on him taking the court each night. In two seasons with the Blazers, he's played just 26 games, and he's starting training camp on the sideline too, with no clear timetable for his return.

Thus, it's Hansen and Clingan manning the frontcourt for the forseeable future. The two of them are both intriguing as prospects, and actually balance each other's skills pretty well. Hansen is an offensive-minded, slick-passing big man with footwork well beyond his years who should, at worst, be a good rotational piece. Clingan's offensive game has some room to develop, but played like a defensive centerpiece in his rookie year (1.6 blocks in under 20 minutes per game).

But neither does much work above the rim or on the fast break... which could be a problem, if reports of a faster Blazers team are to be believed. And if they're not to be believed, well then we fell for it again.

Blazers plan to run a lot, but do they have the personnel?

The big story from Blazers camp is the pace. I recently wrote about why that's great for one player in particular — Scoot Henderson — and how guys like Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe will also benefit. Overall, a faster Blazers team will probably be a better Blazers team, as there aren't quite enough playmakers for a half-court offense to yield consistent positive results.

But how will this young frontcourt handle a quicker pace? I'm not questioning the fitness of Hansen or Clingan, merely how much they can contribute to an up-tempo system when neither one is the typical center you see in those offenses.