Hansen Yang

Village Idiot · Post #1 » by **Village Idiot** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 6:11 pm

Crazy that we don't have a dedicated Yang thread.

Probably like most here, I knew little about him when we drafted him. It seemed to buck the consensus but I was willing to give the front-office the benefit of the doubt. Based on what we've seen thus far I can see both why they drafted him so high and why the were willing to get rid of Ayton with no return.

It'll be very interesting to see how quickly he is able to develop his strength and conditioning. If he do those two things and get a decent outside shoot sky's the limit for him. I'm hoping he gets 12-16 minutes a game this season. That should be feasible given Clingan's inexperience, poor conditioning and Robert Williams propensity to not play. Without a doubt Yang is already a better player than Duop Reath.

JRoy · Post #2 » by **JRoy** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 6:54 pm

Sign me up for the Mmm Bop fan club.

A young big with potential on both ends? What’s not to love?

mighty_duck · Post #3 » by **mighty_duck** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 7:47 pm

On the low post:
Looking at video from China, it looks like he has good footwork and a variety of post moves and counters. That's pretty impressive for a kid his age.
But what worked in China is not working as well in SL so far. He is getting stripped when he dribbles more than twice in the post.
He'll need to work on his handle, but it is a losing battle for someone that tall with such a high center of balance.

Coaches need to put him in a position to win - get the ball deep where he can execute a move with 1 or no dribbles.
SL is not a great place for centers, as the guards are trying to show off and get a chance at making the team, rather than make a simple inlet pass. Yang has had a few chances where he got in to position, blocked his defender nicely behind him, but no pass found him.

On the high post:
to unlock his passing ability, he will need to be able to make a semi-contested foul-line midrange consistently.
Otherwise his defender will back off and cut off the passing lane.

PDXKnight · Post #4 » by **PDXKnight** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 8:53 pm

I am skeptical but if they hit this one out of the park or at least got us a serviceable big this scouting staff might gain some decent respect

BlazersBroncos · Post #5 » by **BlazersBroncos** » Tue Jul 15, 2025 9:32 pm

The footwork and passing abilities are, to me, probably the 2 hardest traits to find these days in a guy his size.

His shot needs alot of work, and I am certain he will never be a switchy big (Albeit IMO his rim protection is quite slept on and he has the toughness to really use his size defending in the post).

I am on record for being pro big swing and Yang is for sure that. I like the balls the FO had to take him 16, albeit I am one who has 'bought in' to the rumors that he was higher on NBA draft boards than the draftnik community.

I think he has a chance to be a PDX era Sabonis caliber big. Middle ground probably something like Kelly Olynyk with worse shooting and much better rim protection. Bust level would simply be him never adjusting to the speed / length of the NBA and being unplayable (And IMO despite the small sample I think its pretty clear that isnt going to be the case).

Hoping for 18-20mpg as a rookie. RWIII will get hurt, Duop is JAG and IMO Yang will simply be too talented to not push for PT. (FWIW - at least on this board the PDX fanbase seems lower on him than the General Board and Draft Board - think we are for whatever reason quite hard on our guys compared to some other fanbases at RealGM - DC for example had a phenomenal rookie year and is barely mentioned).

PDXKnight · Post #6 » by **PDXKnight** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 1:21 am

^

I agree with most of this, though I cant say ive seen anything but positive about DC other than maybe some mention of the injury risk. But clearly his drive and effort along with seemingly having the "it" factor of laying it on the line to win games and making his team better make him almost universally considered part of our top 4 core guys moving forward. Its really hard not to love Clingan's game and I think other fans would get a reality check into how much we value him if they made some lowball offers for him

garrick · Post #7 » by **garrick** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 6:52 am

I thought you guys overreached for sure on this pick but I am starting to feel I was wrong.

We picked Maluach at #10 and he has looked super raw and slow albeit he is 18 so he still has a chance to improve but Yang looks a lot more polished and NBA ready when comparing their SL performances.

Clipsz 4 Life · Post #8 » by **Tim Lehrbach** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 2:50 pm

I also support taking big swings in the draft. The Blazers appear to have a high-upside big on their hands. They also got their target while still trading down for additional draft capital. It's entirely possible Coward make us all regret the move, but I support it.

BlazersBroncos · Post #9 » by **BlazersBroncos** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 3:36 pm

Tim Lehrbach wrote:I also support taking big swings in the draft. The Blazers appear to have a high-upside big on their hands. They also got their target while still trading down for additional draft capital. It's entirely possible Coward make us all regret the move, but I support it.

For all the Coward love he was a pretty similar prospect in terms of late hype and some serious flags as Yang was.

Coward was projected lower actually than Yang until the combine (Which dramatically helped them both).

Yang has the issues we have talked about (Switchability, mobility, meh shooting, etc).

But Coward was no shoe-in. He played 6 games for Wash St. His numbers at Eastern Washington against the few decent teams were significantally lower than his averages, his FTa outside the 6 game stretch for Wash St was quite poor given he should have been a man amongst boys at Eastern, at Eastern he had some wildly low number of dunk finishes which is a significant stat for functional-in-game athleticism (But then had 12 dunks in 6 games at Wash St). Draft age was nearly 2 years older than Yang.

I liked Coward but Yang really blew my expectations out of the water personally in SL. You can see the projectability. He was much further along than I assumed he would be. I think Brad Miller is the most likely outcome - which is a hell of a player at pick 16.

The rebounding in SL was concerning but he seems to be from the Brook Lopez school of rebounding where you box out and let the guards and wings snag the boards. Unselfish and generally useful, but he has to also chase some balls when they come right at him. Think it wont be a huge deal moving forward. He has generally rebounded well at every level. Wont be DC, but then again we have DC to ying his yang.

All said, this was a wildly impressive summer league for the big man IMO. I think he is going to bring too much to the C spot that the others dont and it will be hard to keep him on the bench as the year goes on.

Village Idiot · Post #10 » by **Village Idiot** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 5:10 pm

One thing that sticks out is his amazing hands. Last night he caught the ball with one hand outstretched and immediately put in on the floor in one motion. On a highlight video I saw him one arm a rebound and make a deep pass in one motion. Really impressive physical attributes, coordination and BBIQ encompassed by single plays.

DusterBuster · Post #11 » by **DusterBuster** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 5:23 pm

https://www.youtube.com/live/7uSwf2VxQqs?si=_Y2bmlr4_gBQF-oq

Tim Legler with a breakdown of what he saw with Yang. He's the leadoff topic and its not a quick 30sec - 1min, its a good 15min or more stretch of Yang talk and praise.

dckingsfan · Post #12 » by **dckingsfan** » Wed Jul 16, 2025 5:41 pm

Village Idiot wrote:One thing that sticks out is his amazing hands. Last night he caught the ball with one hand outstretched and immediately put in on the floor in one motion. On a highlight video I saw him one arm a rebound and make a deep pass in one motion. Really impressive physical attributes, coordination and BBIQ encompassed by single plays.

I think is the best big at summer league this year. Others might have their opinions as well.

tacos · Post #13 » by **tacos** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 12:24 am

Im here for the koolaid party too... starting to look like a pretty good move by Cronin

DC_Melo · Post #14 » by **DC_Melo** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 1:20 am

He has been very impressive so far… yes, some flaws to his game and obvious weaknesses are apparent. He definitely has things to work on and a good bit of room to grow.

But the things he does well… IQ, soft hands, coordination and mobility for his size… those are things that are very hard to coach or can only be coached to an extent. The raw skill he brings to the court is highly intriguing. Will be a fun career to track!!

Edit: and he’s the anti LMA/Ayton when it comes to physical contact. He seeks it out, he WANTS to bump somebody every time down the court, on offense AND defense. That mindset and style alone is so refreshing after the past couple decades of bigs we’ve had (although he will have to learn how to play without fouling as much)

DC_Melo · Post #15 » by **DC_Melo** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 1:25 am

dckingsfan wrote:
Village Idiot wrote:One thing that sticks out is his amazing hands. Last night he caught the ball with one hand outstretched and immediately put in on the floor in one motion. On a highlight video I saw him one arm a rebound and make a deep pass in one motion. Really impressive physical attributes, coordination and BBIQ encompassed by single plays.

I think is the best big at summer league this year. Others might have their opinions as well.

Agreed, and his hands are awesome! He just seems very well coordinated in general for a guy his size.

dckingsfan · Post #16 » by **dckingsfan** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:04 am

DC_Melo wrote:
dckingsfan wrote:
Village Idiot wrote:One thing that sticks out is his amazing hands. Last night he caught the ball with one hand outstretched and immediately put in on the floor in one motion. On a highlight video I saw him one arm a rebound and make a deep pass in one motion. Really impressive physical attributes, coordination and BBIQ encompassed by single plays.

I think is the best big at summer league this year. Others might have their opinions as well.

Agreed, and his hands are awesome! He just seems very well coordinated in general for a guy his size.

And then when he was hitting those 3s with ease...

One thing... he is going to get attacked on the defensive side of the ball until his body develops. "I think" that will take a couple of years? :dontknow:

Post #17 » by **DeBlazerRiddem** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 2:11 am

The elite foul baiters of the league are going to see him as easy money. He will have to dial it back a bit and learn to let some things go but I hope he still keeps up good effort and learns to use his size, positioning and verticality to make things difficult.

oldfishermen · Post #18 » by **oldfishermen** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 4:42 am

Agree with the consensus Yang was a good draft pick.

When you combine his young age, very high BBIQ, leadership skills. and natural talents. What is Yang's ceiling?

To get a better sense of Yang, i've tried to watch every one of his interviews. Sure he is a fun guy, but he is much deeper than good times. After the second game. Yang was in deep thought. You could tell he hates to lose. And he had made a mental list of areas he needs to improve on.

Yang loves BB, and is a student of the game. I predict he will continue to develop for many years, untill he retires.

As long as Yang's body holds up, he has a very high ceiling. He may come off as a gentle giant. But he is mentally very tough.

DC_Melo · Post #19 » by **DC_Melo** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 5:03 am

dckingsfan wrote:
DC_Melo wrote:
dckingsfan wrote:I think is the best big at summer league this year. Others might have their opinions as well.

Agreed, and his hands are awesome! He just seems very well coordinated in general for a guy his size.

And then when he was hitting those 3s with ease...

One thing... he is going to get attacked on the defensive side of the ball until his body develops. "I think" that will take a couple of years?

Yea, I’m sure to an extent, and no doubt he’ll endure those growing pains. But the good news here is that Yang does not shy away from contact and will be an exhausting guy to go after on offense. He’ll get won’t be getting targeted all night/every game, at least not in the post, tho certain matchups could pose challenges and some more polished post guys might go after him (though they’re a dying breed).

Where he will get most targeted defensively will be on the perimeter, where I’m sure teams will try to get him switched onto their quicker guards. I don’t know that he’ll ever get the foot speed to counter this problem directly no matter how much his body develops sadly, but with experience and coaching he can use his high IQ to position himself better and avoid those switches to begin with. And you could very well be right that it might take a few years.

Post #20 » by **DaVoiceMaster** » Thu Jul 17, 2025 6:33 am

I am excited to see Yang play with NBA talent and see what that looks like. If the guys make cuts, Yang will find them. That is exciting! I can't wait to see Sabas style passes.

Yang is going to get killed on the defensive end. He gets pushed around too easily by the little guys. The big guys will manhandle him. He also needs to learn to rebound. I like the box out, but that doesn't mean he can't try for the rebound. I'm guessing he will get 10-15 minutes. Clingan will get 25-minutes. That still leaves 8-13 minutes for RW3, Reath, or some small ball lineup. I still wish they had a true PF.