Hansen Yang

[dckingsfan]

I am not worried about Yang developing. He will give 110% effort to become the best player he can be.

My concern is Billups, and how he will fit Yang into the game plan, when Yang is ready. Getting the most out of Yang will be a huge test for Billups, and how much he has developed as a coach.

My guess is, Billups will have a season, or two, before Yang is ready to make a positive impact. Any longer than that, well......something went wrong.

Yep, this. And there is a lot to worry about for both.

Will Yang be able to eventually rebound at a high level? Will that 3 point shot come around in a big way. He will need both to stay on the court, IMO. First he has to rebound to go along with the shot blocking because he isn't going to be a switchable big, he just doesn't have the foot speed. And the 3 point shot will lock him into being able to initiate the high post offense and not allowing the other big to sag off.

Can Billups understand that he then needs to run the offense through Yang when he is on the court? It is going to need to be a different offensive set(s) with lots of cutters and pin down screens along with continual movement. That is significantly different that the offense he runs today.

Gonna be fascinating to watch.

[zzaj]

I am not worried about Yang developing. He will give 110% effort to become the best player he can be.

My concern is Billups, and how he will fit Yang into the game plan, when Yang is ready. Getting the most out of Yang will be a huge test for Billups, and how much he has developed as a coach.

My guess is, Billups will have a season, or two, before Yang is ready to make a positive impact. Any longer than that, well......something went wrong.

Yep, this. And there is a lot to worry about for both.

Will Yang be able to eventually rebound at a high level? Will that 3 point shot come around in a big way. He will need both to stay on the court, IMO. First he has to rebound to go along with the shot blocking because he isn't going to be a switchable big, he just doesn't have the foot speed. And the 3 point shot will lock him into being able to initiate the high post offense and not allowing the other big to sag off.

Can Billups understand that he then needs to run the offense through Yang when he is on the court? It is going to need to be a different offensive set(s) with lots of cutters and pin down screens along with continual movement. That is significantly different that the offense he runs today.

Gonna be fascinating to watch.

The bolded part is something that will need to happen even if Yang isn't on the court. Blazers should be fine when they push tempo, but their halfcourt offense? Yikes. It was pretty bad last year, and it could be actually worse this year with Simons gone. Unless Chauncey tweaks the offense to suit players that can't really create in the halfcourt at a high level I could see the Blazers as a bottom 5 offense in the halfcourt. Ultimately, this is the achilles heel (too soon?) of the current roster...unless a couple of players take a real step forward in self creation the lack of halfcourt offense is going to limit the Blazer win total.

[Walton1one]

Maybe Yang breaks the mold and becomes a "Yao level" type of player or even a more modest (realistic?) average rotational big man type of player, but IMO a lot of people are going to look back several years from now and feel foolish for all of the hype they glossed on this guy....

Big, slow & soft centers have not really been a recipe for NBA success, no matter how "elite" their vision\passing may appear to be, and again, the fact that he looked more gassed out there than Clingan was not a good look either (nor the turnovers, poor rebounding etc...)

[dckingsfan]

Maybe Yang breaks the mold and becomes a "Yao level" type of player or even a more modest (realistic?) average rotational big man type of player, but IMO a lot of people are going to look back several years from now and feel foolish for all of the hype they glossed on this guy....

Big, slow & soft centers have not really been a recipe for NBA success, no matter how "elite" their vision\passing may appear to be, and again, the fact that he looked more gassed out there than Clingan was not a good look either (nor the turnovers, poor rebounding etc...)

Yang will never be Yao... different players.

A Yang that can run the offense from the high post and hit the 3 is an extremely valuable player.

On the defensive end, Yang likes to bang - so soft, meh. Now, can he ever become a really solid defensive rebounder... I have my doubts, but if he does, that was a good pick.

[BlazersBroncos]

Yang being labeled soft is a clear cut example of the pre-judgement that Asian players face in the NBA.

Yang is a goon. The dude was getting into more **** in summer league than any player I have seen on the Blazers in SL in recent memory.

He knows how to get in guys heads and isnt scared to throw around his body. In time he is more likely to be known as a dirty player than a soft one - he isnt shy about throwing some elbows around.

Dude might not be mobile enough to make it (Dont agree here) but he absolutley isnt going to flame out because he isnt physical enough.

Some of the guys that he compares well to - Brad Miller, Marc Gasol, Divac - all have + career DBPM.

[Walton1one]

Well, we will see how tough he is playing against actual NBA players in the post instead of non NBA caliber players in summer league.

and the bias against asian players is there b\c it has been true with one exception, Yao Ming...

[dckingsfan]

Yang being labeled soft is a clear cut example of the pre-judgement that Asian players face in the NBA.

Yang is a goon. The dude was getting into more **** in summer league than any player I have seen on the Blazers in SL in recent memory.

He knows how to get in guys heads and isnt scared to throw around his body. In time he is more likely to be known as a dirty player than a soft one - he isnt shy about throwing some elbows around.

Dude might not be mobile enough to make it (Dont agree here) but he absolutley isnt going to flame out because he isnt physical enough.

Some of the guys that he compares well to - Brad Miller, Marc Gasol, Divac - all have + career DBPM.

That is the way I see it as well. He is big and doesn't back down. I have no concerns with the "soft" label, not after what I saw - labels are just labels until they aren't. And especially projecting forward a couple of years when his body actually develops.

I still think he could flame out due to defensive rebounding (his hands), 3 point shot and mobility. Well and injury (big guy after all). Gonna be fun to watch over the next 3 years to see if he gets there...

[JasonStern]

Legit annoyed at people bitching that I call him Ha 2.0.
For those that don't remember Ha 1.0, he was SOUTH KOREAN.
Hansen is CHINESE.
Ha 2.0 just happened to have Ha in his name. And happened to be an under athletic center, as was Ha 1.0.
People calling him the Chinese Jokic (who is SERBIAN) are arguably more racist.
Like Ha 1.0, Ha 2.0 played well but not super amazing in a smaller basketball league. Same with Sergei Monya, Petteri Koppenen, etc.
That did not translate to the NBA, where the top 450 players play.
Language barriers play a huge part. Fixable, but not in a single off-season.
Do I expect him to be a bust? Yes. This was a move to help sell the team. Pre-season viewership was up 3x from last season. Why? Chinese viewership.
"He LoOkEd GoOd In SuMmEr LeAguE!" - So did Scoot. Hell. Qyntel Woods won MVP. Meanwhile Batum looked like trash and ended up having a long career.
But since we moved down and got a future 1st, I count this as a reasonable gamble and punting on this draft class.
Consider me team Cling-Kong, which I am sure someone will find something racist about that nickname.
Hope I'm wrong. Doesn't benefit me for him to be a bust.

[BNM]

Legit annoyed at people bitching that I call him Ha 2.0.
For those that don't remember Ha 1.0, he was SOUTH KOREAN.
Hansen is CHINESE.
Ha 2.0 just happened to have Ha in his name. And happened to be an under athletic center, as was Ha 1.0.
People calling him the Chinese Jokic (who is SERBIAN) are arguably more racist.
Like Ha 1.0, Ha 2.0 played well but not super amazing in a smaller basketball league. Same with Sergei Monya, Petteri Koppenen, etc.
That did not translate to the NBA, where the top 450 players play.
Language barriers play a huge part. Fixable, but not in a single off-season.
Do I expect him to be a bust? Yes. This was a move to help sell the team. Pre-season viewership was up 3x from last season. Why? Chinese viewership.
"He LoOkEd GoOd In SuMmEr LeAguE!" - So did Scoot. Hell. Qyntel Woods won MVP. Meanwhile Batum looked like trash and ended up having a long career.
But since we moved down and got a future 1st, I count this as a reasonable gamble and punting on this draft class.
Consider me team Cling-Kong, which I am sure someone will find something racist about that nickname.
Hope I'm wrong. Doesn't benefit me for him to be a bust.

Who called you racist (legit question)? Did some posts get deleted?

My only quibble with the Ha 2.0 reference is claiming Yang, like Ha has received an excessive amount of unwarranted hype. I don’t recollect Ha receiving any hype. He was more of a meme pick. Most guys drafted that late never see a minute of NBA playing time, so you might as well use the pick on some 7’3” guy and hope he actually amounts to something. At least we didn’t waste a first round pick on Pavel Podkolzin.

[KLS]

Yang had a good game against Sacramento. When he is used correctly, he can contribute as good as any NBA players drafted at 16. He can shoot 3s, block, and assist, with reasonable rebounding ability too. I also feel he has the fantastic footworks and moves of Kevin McHale, the outstanding PF of Boston during the Bird era. As a rookie he should require some development time to get better, much like Yokic did. He has the potential to get better. Hopefully he can stay healthy through the season.

[zzaj]

Issue with Yang for me is exactly what we saw in game 1…the speed, refereeing and sophistication of NBA offenses, plus his complete lack of lateral quickness and jumping ability are going to make him a pretty poor positional defender and an even worse help defender.

He also needs a lot of work on defensive rebound positioning—he ends up ball watching a lot once the ball goes up.

Sadly, those are the things that you mostly need from a 7’+ drop-center.

There are going to be nights against certain opponents where he’ll look atrociously bad, and others where his offense will make up for some deficiencies on the defensive end.

But overall, like most rookies that are going to get decent minutes, it’ll be hard for him to make a net positive impact.

EDIT: Forgot to mention…Blazers played very little high PnR in that first game and they played A LOT morevin game 2. It’s pretty obvious that Yang is more comfortable in those sets. And he should be used in that 5-out high PnR almost exclusively, as it makes use of his passing ability (as we saw with the great pass to Sharpe).

[JasonStern]

Who called you racist (legit question)? Did some posts get deleted?

My only quibble with the Ha 2.0 reference is claiming Yang, like Ha has received an excessive amount of unwarranted hype. I don’t recollect Ha receiving any hype. He was more of a meme pick. Most guys drafted that late never see a minute of NBA playing time, so you might as well use the pick on some 7’3” guy and hope he actually amounts to something. At least we didn’t waste a first round pick on Pavel Podkolzin.

I honestly don't remember. I don't take internet posts personal. Might have been on the general board. Poster was more mad that I was associating a Chinese player with a South Korean player. But my point was more they were both stiff Blazer bigs. Long time Blazer fans get it. Credit to Ha 2.0 for having a much better jump shot, but he still has a really slow release at the NBA level. I mean, google Ha 2.0 and you get "future star" after getting 4 rebounds and 1 assist? In a meaningless pre-season game? And most of his points come from uncontested shots, which isn't going to happen during the regular season. This is "Chinese Jokic"? That seems more racist against Serbia than anything else.

And to be fair, I've been completely transparent here. Trading down for a future 1st and taking a 20 year old prospect was a solid move. Worst case, you punted on this year's draft. Best case, you land talent and get a draft pick for doing so. And he's young enough to have years to improve. Plus getting past the language barrier will help. I'm not anti-Ha, I'm just realistic. Seems like a cool guy and I'm not wanting the Blazers to suck. But I get "year away from being a year away" vibes. Meanwhile my boy Sharpe goes and puts up 18.5ppg in the regular season and everyone is going "PASSIONLESS!!! HOW DARE THAT CANADIAN ACT CANADIAN!!!"

[monopoman]

Yang apparently had a promise from the Nets to go 19 so he wasn't a total reach and has been on the
radar of scouts for years.

Assuming TL is able to play some this season, Yang is likely going to spend some time in the G league, for
he needs to play. He needs to time to adjust to a new country and to learn the language and it would not
be a surprise if this was a "redshirt" season. Reath could be the backup center if the team decides to go
slow with him

There is no way he bothers to show up to the draft if he thought he truly had 0 chance of being slected in the 1st round. I also believe in this kid the more I see of him, I also love how serious he is this is a guy that really badly wants to be the best he can be.

This is a kid that seems to live and breathe basketball, and that's the type of player that is typically far more likely to hit their ceiling. I could see many scenarios where many teams are kicking themselves for not drafting him sooner or missing out on never evaluating him before 16.

[dckingsfan]

https://www.hoopshype.com/story/sports/nba/rumors/2025/10/14/nba-on-espn-boban-marjanovic-thinks-yang-hansen-will/86696293007/

[JasonStern]

Scoring 13ppg for the Qingdao Eagles last year is cool and all, but a friendly reminder that he's behind Timelord and Cling-Kong on the depth chart.
Flyer on a player that gained a future asset and gained some Chinese market share right when the franchise was sold. No need to overthink this or get expectations out of hand. He's unlikely to contribute any meaningful minutes until he at least learns English.

[DaVoiceMaster]

How many games do you expect RW3 to play this year? Yang will get plenty of opportunity to play, so long as he doesn't foul out too early.

[dckingsfan]

How many games do you expect RW3 to play this year? Yang will get plenty of opportunity to play, so long as he doesn't foul out too early.

Agree and disagree (in a respect it is just a nitpick). Agreed that Yang will get plenty of "opportunities" to play because Williams can't and Reath shouldn't. Not so sure that small-ball won't limit his overall minutes.

One thing though, I think there will be certain situations where he thrives. Where there is a backup C that he can more than handle or another team's small ball lineup that he can shred.

Gonna be interesting...

[Walton1one]

Yang, has all the hallmarks of a middling back up big man. I fail to see how you can start or play a guy like that for 30 minutes with a complete lack of lateral speed and defensive instincts. That is if he can even stay on the floor that long without fouling out. The guy averaged 5.3 fouls/game in the preseason (and 3.5 rebounds...ouch).

Basically, POR wasted their draft pick on a career back up big who plays the same position as their #7 pick LY, is also a drop big and is SIGNIFICANTLY worse defensively. Oh yeah, and a hope\prayer that ORL falls off a cliff by 2028 and that pick is worth something even marginally valuable (and not a pick that is likely 25+). A true master class by Cronin....

[mojomarc]

Like Ha 1.0, Ha 2.0 played well but not super amazing in a smaller basketball league. Same with Sergei Monya, Petteri Koppenen, etc.

Hold on--he was DPOY and 2x 1st team All-CBA. What else would you want in an 18/19yo playing against men? Granted, it wasn't the same competition he'll face in the NBA night after night. But it's not like he wasn't very good against the competition he had available to him.

Monya, as an example, never averaged more than 5.9 ppg per season playing in the Russian league. And comparison with Ha in Asia Basketball (where they had common competition): Ha averaged 8.5/6.1/.7 over his entire career, including seasons where he was a top pro in the KBL. Yang averaged 8.7/4.7/1 as a 19 year old. Ha shot 47%, Yang 67%. So as a 19yo I think it is fair to say he was as good as Ha ever was. And that's a comparison with Ha after he had three seasons practicing/playing against NBA talent, but before Yang had a chance to do the same. So while it is worth not getting too hyped until he shows it regularly, I think it is fair to say Yang is Yang 1.0, not Ha 2.0 or Monya 2.0.

That did not translate to the NBA, where the top 450 players play.
Language barriers play a huge part. Fixable, but not in a single off-season.
Do I expect him to be a bust? Yes. This was a move to help sell the team. Pre-season viewership was up 3x from last season. Why? Chinese viewership.
"He LoOkEd GoOd In SuMmEr LeAguE!" - So did Scoot. Hell. Qyntel Woods won MVP. Meanwhile Batum looked like trash and ended up having a long career.
But since we moved down and got a future 1st, I count this as a reasonable gamble and punting on this draft class.
Consider me team Cling-Kong, which I am sure someone will find something racist about that nickname.
Hope I'm wrong. Doesn't benefit me for him to be a bust.

I'm hopeful, but hardly counting on it. I think he was more than a reasonable gamble given how rare bigs that have court vision are. If his outside shot becomes reasonable so he can stretch the floor, I think he's already adding about three diminsions that Ha didn't add and which we really haven't had in a long, long time on this team.

[m0ng0]

Yang, has all the hallmarks of a middling back up big man. I fail to see how you can start or play a guy like that for 30 minutes with a complete lack of lateral speed and defensive instincts. That is if he can even stay on the floor that long without fouling out. The guy averaged 5.3 fouls/game in the preseason (and 3.5 rebounds...ouch).

Basically, POR wasted their draft pick on a career back up big who plays the same position as their #7 pick LY, is also a drop big and is SIGNIFICANTLY worse defensively. Oh yeah, and a hope\prayer that ORL falls off a cliff by 2028 and that pick is worth something even marginally valuable (and not a pick that is likely 25+). A true master class by Cronin....

You have not even seen him play a regular season game yet, judge much? It must be so HARD to be so much smarter than the rest of the world. Why dont put your little spreadsheets away and give him a season and see what happens?