“I’m Sorry, WHAT??” — The Athletic Stunned By Trail Blazers Selection Of Yang Hansen No. 16 Overall
750 The Game Staff
There has been no shortage of reaction to the Trail Blazers selection of Yang Hansen with the No. 16 overall pick.
The Athletic assigned NBA draft expert Sam Vecenie and front office insider John Hollinger to provide reaction and analysis to every pick in the draft, and of course, each were surprised by Portland’s choice.
Wrote Vecenie, who had Yang ranked 48th on his prospect rankings:
Yang has several intriguing skills. Any time a player is this big with elite passing vision and touch around the rim, there’s going to be a lot of intrigue. I worry that it’s going to be hard for Yang to actualize those things in the NBA because of his high-hipped frame, lack of explosiveness and lack of lateral ability. Even though skill absolutely matters with players like this and is what makes them special, the guys who tend to make it in this mold are generally the biggest bullies on the court: Think Nikola Jokić, Domantas Sabonis, Nikola Vucevic and even Karl-Anthony Towns to some extent. They all can put their shoulder into NBA big men and move them backward to establish position wherever they need to on the court. Yang doesn’t have that ability, unfortunately. His defensive translation to the NBA is a major question, too. I love big, skilled centers who can give you a chance to play five-out basketball. I just don’t buy Yang enough as a shooter and don’t buy the functionality of his game enough against the best athletes in the world. He’d absolutely be worth a stash in the mid-second round in case this changes at some point, but I don’t know that he’s ready to come over to the NBA yet.
Hollinger didn’t hold back his shock, writing:
I’m sorry … WHAT???!?!?!?! Nobody had Yang as a first-rounder. Literally nobody. He’s big and fairly skilled and I think he’s potentially a solid backup because of his offense, but this is a serious reach by the Blazers on a player most expected to last well into the second round. (Memphis made this pick, technically, but as noted above the Grizzlies swapped spots 11 and 16 with Portland). The Blazers already had a surfeit of centers with Deandre Ayton, Robert Williams, and 2024 lottery pick Donovan Clingan, so it’s not even clear what Yang’s pathway is to minutes in Portland. I do not get this at all.
Read the full piece here.