Hansen Yang

[Walton1one]

FTR I did not advocate for POR drafting Coward

Yang has more warts than most players, specifically on the defensive end,
He is not a Jermaine O’Neill who just needs a couple years either.

[HoopsFanAZ]

I liked the possibilities for Portland in the 2025 draft. From the chatter and reports, I guessed that one of the guys I liked would be there:
Egor Demin (8), Cedric Coward (11), Noa Essengue (12), Carter Bryant (14).

At 11, I hated the trading down but liked getting the 1st rounder.
At 16, I was shocked, everyone around me was shocked, and plenty of fans at the Rose Quarter cleared out before the 1st round was over -- shocked.

It was a really good draft for Portland -- Yang and the draft capital. Based on the reporting, Yang is a worker and within 2 years will be physically different. Portland will have 2 centers -- actual big dudes with complementary strengths -- who can lock down the position for years. With two younger forwards, it's all about the guards and strengthening the bench as they head back to the playoffs.

I have no complaints about the 2025 draft. Coward was ready for minutes in the NBA. That's what I thought and am happy for him that he's had a great start (in an open position for Memphis with the Bane trade). The others rookies liked need time and development -- just like Yang.

[dckingsfan]

The others rookies liked need time and development -- just like Yang.

Agreed. This should be revisited in the '27-28 season to see where we are at...

[PDXKnight]

While many scouts were impressed by Yang's offensive capabilities, the issue was and always will be his defense. If he is unplayable defensively (and he is) then the offense does not matter, barbeque chicken indeed....

This is from a scout who liked Yang, specifically offensively, but the concerns (many) were there for all to see...

Incredibly low floor on defense that can make or break his NBA future. Even in the CBA, can look like an easy target in the pick-and-roll. NBA teams will test him now and maybe always.

Below average physical tools despite his size and standing reach. Slow footspeed. No lift. Lacks a second jump. Rigid, inflexible hips. Plays with a high center of gravity. Cannot get low to or explode off the ground as a result.

Will have to prove that he can survive in ballscreens. Barbecue chicken in empty side or high pick-and-roll right now. Backline help at Qingdao was often very lacking, but not an excuse at all.

Can only open up his hips once, then leave his feet once. If he has to repeat either of those efforts, problems arise. Really lacks functionality and versatility guarding the pick-and-roll. Tape is worrying in the CBA, so concerns are amplified re: NBA.

Can’t add value on offense if he gets picked apart on defense. Offensive value is curtailed if he can’t stay on the floor, or can only play for very limited spurts.

Playoff projection is concerning because of his severe defensive limitations. At this point, resembles more of an 82-game than a 16-game player.

Might only be playable in Drop coverage. Needs to be insulated with length and size, plus on the clipboard. Cannot handle too much space. You don’t want to ask him to change directions often.

Drop simplifies his responsibilities and narrows down his radius of action. Needs to stay in front of the ball and keep his hands active. Better at doing this — also a more logical ask, in my opinion — but needs to do it more.

Struggles to decelerate and change speeds. Heavy feet, big body. Ballhandlers can just get lower than him and blaze past. You don’t want him guarding in space. Tougher competition in the NBA, obviously.

Cannot leave feet. If he does, he’s in trouble. No second jump or real recovery tools.

Athletic thresholds in the NBA are more demanding. Blocked a stepback three at the combine. Under control closeout to slide with drive and block at the rim. Interesting recent flashes in front of league decision-makers.

Will be surrounded with better size, athletes, and scheming in the NBA. Hope is that, plus being largely played in drop, can cover up his deficiencies enough for his brilliant offensive arsenal to shine. Maybe even needs to play with another big.

Yeah, the issue is, he would be playing with another drop big like Clingan is, that does not work.

So if accurate hes essentially Meyers 2.0 at best unless he can magically play defense

Im not sure what to think on Hansen. I do get skittish with Chinese prospects, the level of competition just isnt good enough there to really get an accurate evaluation vs Europe which is close enough to kind of cue in on which guys stand out in the modern era. Im not saying you dont take a guy just because hes Chinese, but the competition level should matter just like it would drafting an 18 year old senior in hs. Sure you may get a lebron or another cant miss prospect but Alternatively you could get Kwame brown with a number 1 pick

[DeBlazerRiddem]

It's tough to see him not being a liability on defense. If he gets his offense going he could force teams into lineup decisions with his size and array of moves but end of games need to get a stop defense I would never want him out there.

Also hard not to like the more ready made player in Coward, imagine adding his length and shooting to our current squad. I know I probably would have got suckered into the promise of Bryant or Noa but I think its often smart to go with the more "ready now" player and Cedric is showing that.

I think trading that pick away was a mistake.

[dckingsfan]

What is weird is that Yang didn't play last night vs. Santa Cruz Warriors?!?

[Wizenheimer]

It's tough to see him not being a liability on defense. If he gets his offense going he could force teams into lineup decisions with his size and array of moves but end of games need to get a stop defense I would never want him out there.

Also hard not to like the more ready made player in Coward, imagine adding his length and shooting to our current squad. I know I probably would have got suckered into the promise of Bryant or Noa but I think its often smart to go with the more "ready now" player and Cedric is showing that.

I think trading that pick away was a mistake.

yeah, I think it was a mistake as well, but there is always the background noise of that 2028 pick

I'm not a draft maven or guru. I'm not good at projecting prospects to the NBA. But Coward was the guy I was hoping for more than Denim & Queen

coming out of the draft with Yang was a disappointment for me, but I've never bought any of the Yang hype. I still don't see the offensive skills some of you guys see. So far, I see a poor man's Meyers Leonard

by the way, Coward is only 21 months older that Yang. But Yang played a lot more games and minutes in the CBA than Coward played in college. Meaning in a real way Yang has an experience advantage over Coward

Coward is actually 3 months younger than Sharpe

[Dame Lizard]

It's tough to see him not being a liability on defense. If he gets his offense going he could force teams into lineup decisions with his size and array of moves but end of games need to get a stop defense I would never want him out there.

Also hard not to like the more ready made player in Coward, imagine adding his length and shooting to our current squad. I know I probably would have got suckered into the promise of Bryant or Noa but I think its often smart to go with the more "ready now" player and Cedric is showing that.

I think trading that pick away was a mistake.

yeah, I think it was a mistake as well, but there is always the background noise of that 2028 pick

I'm not a draft maven or guru. I'm not good at projecting prospects to the NBA. But Coward was the guy I was hoping for more than Denim & Queen

coming out of the draft with Yang was a disappointment for me, but I've never bought any of the Yang hype. I still don't see the offensive skills some of you guys see. So far, I see a poor man's Meyers Leonard

by the way, Coward is only 21 months older that Yang. But Yang played a lot more games and minutes in the CBA than Coward played in college. Meaning in a real way Yang has an experience advantage over Coward

Coward is actually 3 months younger than Sharpe

Agree entirely.

I really wanted Coward. I've never ever been more confident in a top 10 pick being a bust than Demin, so I'm glad that we didn't pick him.

That Orlando pick could be good. But Coward looked like such a compelling prospect that it's disappointing that we passed on him. At the very least he looked like a great 3 Pt shooter with compelling defensive traits and broader offensive upside. So far he's been all that and then some.

[Walton1one]

Why is Yang on this road trip? Is having your 4th string center THAT valuable or maybe they should be assigning him to the G-League to get reps, or would the Chinese media throw a fit? I laughed watching Splitter having to that answer that question about Yang's PT after the last game.

I'll say it again, Cronin\Schmitz's draft record over the last 4 years is borderline bad, (3) Top 7 picks, (4) picks in the lottery and little definitively to show for it.

[dckingsfan]

https://www.hoopshype.com/story/sports/nba/rumors/2025/11/13/yang-hansen-expected-to-make-g-league-debut-for-rip-city-remix/87256626007/

[zzaj]

Why is Yang on this road trip? Is having your 4th string center THAT valuable or maybe they should be assigning him to the G-League to get reps, or would the Chinese media throw a fit? I laughed watching Splitter having to that answer that question about Yang's PT after the last game.

I'll say it again, Cronin\Schmitz's draft record over the last 4 years is borderline bad, (3) Top 7 picks, (4) picks in the lottery and little definitively to show for it.

Part of getting a feel for being an NBA player is the travel. This is the first major road trip of the year. They probably want him to get that experience and to stay "connected" at this early stage. I think it was Mike Richmond who mentioned an upcoming Gleague homestand of 5 games while the Blazers are in town. Yang will probably play in those...

[Case2012]

FTR I did not advocate for POR drafting Coward

Yang has more warts than most players, specifically on the defensive end,
He is not a Jermaine O’Neill who just needs a couple years either.

Obviously I was the one obsessed with Coward, and it's infuriating watching him do everything I ranted about him doing on the Blazers’ roster instead of for it. I would take Coward over Shaedon, Yang, Clingan, Murray, or Scoot without hesitation. And honestly, Schmitz has proven to be a joke on the scouting side, which blows my mind because I used to be a huge fan of his back in the DraftExpress days.

As for our current roster: I still want to see what Yang can actually do, because at least we have him, but Clingan just looks rough. Last year he was oozing defensive potential, and this season he hasn’t had a single legitimately good game. That “stretch 3” everyone hyped looks awful, he rarely blocks shots, his hands are bad, he has no touch, and even after winning two college titles the NBA game still looks way too fast for him. I hated the pick then, and I still hate it now. I end up rooting for these guys because they’re Blazers, but none of them have star potential.

Meanwhile, it's hilarious that the two players I desperately wanted — Coward and Edey — are probably going to end up as cornerstones of Memphis once they fully commit to their rebuild.

All of that said, I still want to see Yang get minutes. Clingan looks lost, Schmitz has a track record of drafting guys with sub-90 IQs, and Yang — despite his athletic limitations actually has a really high BBIQ. If Billups were still coaching, I think he'd already be playing but Tiago seems to have zero interest, so I’ll be shocked if Yang sees real minutes before Rob inevitably gets hurt again. The hype around him was a bright spot coming into the season after SL and our new coach won't give him a shot because he wants to earn the the coaching title permanently and isn't willing to let him learn on the fly. Teams have adjusted to our style and he'd give us more playmaking and offense.

[dckingsfan]

FTR I did not advocate for POR drafting Coward

Yang has more warts than most players, specifically on the defensive end,
He is not a Jermaine O’Neill who just needs a couple years either.

Obviously I was the one obsessed with Coward, and it's infuriating watching him do everything I ranted about him doing on the Blazers’ roster instead of for it. I would take Coward over Shaedon, Yang, Clingan, Murray, or Scoot without hesitation. And honestly, Schmitz has proven to be a joke on the scouting side, which blows my mind because I used to be a huge fan of his back in the DraftExpress days.

As for our current roster: I still want to see what Yang can actually do, because at least we have him, but Clingan just looks rough. Last year he was oozing defensive potential, and this season he hasn’t had a single legitimately good game. That “stretch 3” everyone hyped looks awful, he rarely blocks shots, his hands are bad, he has no touch, and even after winning two college titles the NBA game still looks way too fast for him. I hated the pick then, and I still hate it now. I end up rooting for these guys because they’re Blazers, but none of them have star potential.

Meanwhile, it's hilarious that the two players I desperately wanted — Coward and Edey — are probably going to end up as cornerstones of Memphis once they fully commit to their rebuild.

All of that said, I still want to see Yang get minutes. Clingan looks lost, Schmitz has a track record of drafting guys with sub-90 IQs, and Yang — despite his athletic limitations actually has a really high BBIQ. If Billups were still coaching, I think he'd already be playing but Tiago seems to have zero interest, so I’ll be shocked if Yang sees real minutes before Rob inevitably gets hurt again. The hype around him was a bright spot coming into the season after SL and our new coach won't give him a shot because he wants to earn the the coaching title permanently and isn't willing to let him learn on the fly. Teams have adjusted to our style and he'd give us more playmaking and offense.

I wanted Coward, Bryant and Clayton in that order. I would have taken the trade as well, soooo (Still ticks me off that we could have been in on the NO trade)...

So I would have taken Clayton.

I would then have tried to trade down with Brooklyn for 26 and 27. Pretty sure they would have gone for it since they wanted Yang.

I liked Wolf for "this team". Seems like he could have slid right in next to Clingan over time. I also liked the bigs that went in the second round of Fleming, Penda, Kalkbrenner and Broome. Not sure who I would have picked at that time.

But... we picked Yang. Now we need to give it a couple of years to see how the Clingan/Yang experiment works out.

[DaVoiceMaster]

I'm not a big Clingan fan. He's clunky and doesn't move so well. I like players that are more fluid. Yang is a worse version of Clingan defensively and we'll see what happens offensively. He'll likely be better (he may already be better offensively), but Clingan is probably better st getting in position around the basket to get a putback. Needless to say, I'm not as excited as some about our center position. If Clingan develops some offense, then maybe I can get past the clunkiness. All this to say I'm not excited about the Clingan Yang duo in the future.

[dckingsfan]

29 minutes, 4-11, 8 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists.

[dckingsfan]

I'm not a big Clingan fan. He's clunky and doesn't move so well. I like players that are more fluid. Yang is a worse version of Clingan defensively and we'll see what happens offensively. He'll likely be better (he may already be better offensively), but Clingan is probably better st getting in position around the basket to get a putback. Needless to say, I'm not as excited as some about our center position. If Clingan develops some offense, then maybe I can get past the clunkiness. All this to say I'm not excited about the Clingan Yang duo in the future.

But the Clingan/Yang experiment starts now

I will take this time to rant a bit...

They had an identity at the end of last season. Defense first, play fast and shoot 3s. So, one would think you would draft to this "directionality". If you are going to draft a C, it would be a defensive specialist or a stretch big? A wing would be a 3&D player? For next season you already have Dame, Jrue and Scoot. Adding Wesley made sense (for example).

Yang really doesn't fit the mold. Say what you want about Clingan but he does fit the mold as a rim protector. Now, if Yang starts dropping 3s at a .400 clip, I will gladly be eating lots of crow feathers. For sure, I am hoping he makes that transition.

[Wizenheimer]

Yang really doesn't fit the mold. Say what you want about Clingan but he does fit the mold as a rim protector. Now, if Yang starts dropping 3s at a .400 clip, I will gladly be eating lots of crow feathers. For sure, I am hoping he makes that transition.

Meyers Leonard had 6 seasons when he shot over 40% on three's; 4 seasons when he shot over 42%; and one season shot 45%. Didn't make him valuable at all

[Norm2953]

This is his redshirt season. His time will come in the summer and next year's fall camp.

[dckingsfan]

Yang really doesn't fit the mold. Say what you want about Clingan but he does fit the mold as a rim protector. Now, if Yang starts dropping 3s at a .400 clip, I will gladly be eating lots of crow feathers. For sure, I am hoping he makes that transition.

Meyers Leonard had 6 seasons when he shot over 40% on three's; 4 seasons when he shot over 42%; and one season shot 45%. Didn't make him valuable at all

Hmmm, I think Yang passing out of the high post would be a huge differentiator to Meyers Leonard, no?

[Wizenheimer]

Yang really doesn't fit the mold. Say what you want about Clingan but he does fit the mold as a rim protector. Now, if Yang starts dropping 3s at a .400 clip, I will gladly be eating lots of crow feathers. For sure, I am hoping he makes that transition.

Meyers Leonard had 6 seasons when he shot over 40% on three's; 4 seasons when he shot over 42%; and one season shot 45%. Didn't make him valuable at all

Hmmm, I think Yang passing out of the high post would be a huge differentiator to Meyers Leonard, no?

no, I don't agree. I think that's a skill, at this point, Yang possesses only in the imagination of some Blazer fans. The notion Yang can be a hub of the Blazer offense is a massive stretch, at best, and may simply be ludicrous. All the "Chinese Jokic" hype last summer was idiotic. Making 2 or 3 high post passes in summer league doesn't mean it's a skill that translates to an actual NBA game.

He's played 29 minutes so far and hasn't had an assist. What he has shown is that he can be a turnover machine and him having the ball out past the foul line extended where he'd be exposed to all the quick hands of NBA perimeter players seems guaranteed to generate easy points for other teams, not for the Blazers

I'm at the 'he has to prove it' stage for Yang. I'm not buying any of the upside chatter from his fans. I've seen him play and he has generally been useless. He's quite slow and immobile; he makes Meyers look like Usain Bolt. I expect he will improve, but I do not expect dramatic improvement at all. I think there's a good chance he will be a wasted lottery pick