Hansen Yang

[Wizenheimer]

I'm still baffled by the decision to draft Yang

Been over this.

1. Punt on the 2025 draft. They got a future pick to move down. They clearly weren't high on anyone realistically available. Fans have every right to call Blazers management out on not taking the best player available. We all know how this plays out. But, a future pick while keeping a 1st in this draft - in a vacuum - isn't bad value.

2. Look at the hype - especially in China. If you're trying to sell a franchise for the most money possible, what better way than to get Chinese viewership up?

Did I support this? No. Passing on the BPA bites us in the ass every time we try to be clever.
Do I understand it? Yeah.
If the Blazers hated this draft, could they have traded down again and still drafted Ha 2.0 while gaining additional draft capital or talent? A competent GM could.
"BuT nEw JeRsEy WoUlD tAkE hIm aT 19!" - Then trade down to 18 and get a protected future 2nd or something.
"BuT nEw JeRsEy CoUlD tRaDe Up To 16!" - Okay. We still walk away with future draft capital and a late mid-1st round prospect.

I'm biased, though. I'm a huge Cling-Kong fan. And both Clingan and Ha lack the athletic ability to play the 4, meaning they can't play together.
And I warned that the talent level at the CBA was significantly worse than most other leagues. Hell, Scoot was G-League MVP tier and also has the 2 or 3 of the top 5 worst +/- performances ever.

Athleticism is hard to fix. But he really needs to become fluent in English. The translation barrier isn't productive (brilliant observation, J!).

But, whatever. Cronin is still better than Olshey. And there is hope new management will bring someone new in.

just a note: it doesn't matter if 200 million Chinese watch Blazer games; but viewership doesn't yield any more revenue for Portland than it does for San Antonio

Yao Ming made money for the Rockets, but it was only thru sponsorship partnerships the Rockets signed with Chinese companies. But Yao was a phenomenon in China back then, Yang isn't

[Walton1one]

Saw this a while back, but I thought it made sense here. The difference b\t Clingan & Yang is not small it is a chasm. DC is a FAR better player, even if his rudimentary offensive capabilities do not improve. His defense & offensive rebounding are ELITE. I doubt Yang has one elite skill

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[Walton1one]

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[Norm2953]

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Let's not get carried away for the Pelicans are 2-13

Presumably the Blazers were not high on anyone and got a pick and got the player they wanted. Whether
that player can play is another matter but this is Yang's "redshirt" season. I hope he gets more time in
the G league and uses this year to adjust to a new country and learn the language. He faces unique
challenges for one, he's the only Chinese player in the league but unlike Yao, he's clearly a developmental
player, a work in progress.

[zzaj]

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He's certainly capable of that, like Zbo. Many of us were saying predraft that Queen, with the correct role can be a very good player. Wrong role, and he'll look terrible.

Fears has looked pretty dang good in spots too. I like those picks for New Orleans. In 3 or 4 years those players could be among the top 5 from that draft.


BTW, who is comparing Yang with Clingan? Did I miss that memo or something? Their games are literal opposites and Clingan is waaaaay further along at doing things a drop Center should do. I honestly don't understand the need to compare them.

When I watched video of Yang in China way back in December of last year he looked Sabas-lite esque to me...meaning, he was slow but a deft passer for his size, had a nice little hook touch around the basket, a good set shot, and used his size and weight well against smaller players.

During summer league Youtube erupted with "OMG iF JoKiC aNd SeNgUn HaD a BaBy!!?"...which always was dumb, unrealistic, and probably just click bait for 623459876345 Chinese views on posts.

Yang is what he always was--what I described above. The problem is, he's playing against like 100% better competition in the NBA. So a lot of the things that made him look good in China and Summer league are taken away. He'll get better but he's a career backup, and that's fine...especially for where he was taken in the draft.

The problem is Portland could have drafted a few players that could be helping RIGHT NOW based on how they've played when given minutes...Coward, WCjr, and Asa jump to mind. But that's water under the bridge.

[Walton1one]

For the record, I did not want POR to draft Queen, was just pointing out how he is performing, impressive so far. Does anyone want to bet Yang scores 30 this year? Thought not, and oh BTW Queen and Yang are around the same age (6 months apart), but sure Yang needs more time.

My comment about DC\Yang was more about Dirt & Sprague speculating (not only ones) about POR trading for Sabonis and Clingan as part of the package. That would be a stupid trade.

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[dckingsfan]

I am giving Yang two years... let's check back then.

Queen was drafted 13 not after 16.

[Walton1one]

13 and 16 are close, POR original pick was at #11, by trading back they gave up on: Coward, Queen, Bryant, Sorber (watch OKC find another diamond) & Essengue whom several people here liked a lot, but is also very raw like Yang (and 2 years younger)

And they passed on some mobile bigs, who probably would’ve fit a lot better with DC, guys like Beringer\Newell or other non bigs who would’ve helped their overall depth far better than what is currently on this roster

The notion being floated that the POR front office selected Yang because they didn’t feel there was anybody else better or they weren’t enamored with anybody else (if true) makes them look really bad, and has already been proven to be false

When you reach for a player like that, they better pay off, otherwise you look like a fool, which is what the blazers front office looks like right now, then again they have for a long time as far as I’m concerned

[Norm2953]

I am giving Yang two years... let's check back then.

Queen was drafted 13 not after 16.

Totally agree!

The NBA draft is a crap shoot and we're arguing over guys who went in the later half of the lottery as
opposed to the mid lottery. Let's at least wait until the 2027-28 season when Yang turns 23 before we
proclaim him a bust. I'd have a bigger problem if the team had a mid lottery pick and still chose Yang.