There were a lot of interesting moments in last night’s first round of the NBA Draft but only one truly “wow” moment and that was the Portland Trailblazers moving back from 11 to 16 to select 7-2 Chinese center Yang Hansen (who all of us in the NBA Draft community have been calling Hansen Yang for the past two years).
To be it’s the most fascinating pick in the draft. If you look at who they drafted last year, Donovan Clingan, they now have two 7-2 centers, both of whom are somewhat lumbering giants but both with excellent passing vision, good rebounding and a lot of bulk up front.
Will we see lineups with both big guys playing together? This could be a very exciting new twin towers look. Most likely we’ll see Hansen coming off the bench and playing in a rotation with Clingan and perhaps Deandre Ayton, if they keep him on the roster.
No.16 might seem high for Yang Hansen, who most people in the business mocked in the late first or early second round but I think it’s fair value for him. He was one of the big risers from the NBA draft combine (as I wrote about here) and at the time I started mocking him in the mid twenties and at one point had him mocked as high as no.18. After watching him at the combine it was clear he has a special feel for the game and actually moves pretty well for his size. He’s still a teenager and will continue to get stronger and a bit more mobile as he develops and his already advanced ball skills will only increase.
There are concerns about his ability to guard at the NBA level but Portland has a really good defensive team to put around him including a handful of really strong defensive wings, which should help cover for any shortcomings he may have.
In trading back from 11 to 16 Portland gained a 2028 unprotected first round pick, which comes from the Magic, a nice haul. But they also passed on players like Cedric Coward, Noa Essengue, Derik Queen and Carter Bryant. Will Yang Hansen prove to be worth the investment or will one of those players they could have had go on to be a star and make them regret the move?
It’s going to be really interesting to see how Henson’s career unfolds in Portland and how the rest of these guys careers play out.
One thing’s for sure: the Blazers made a bold move last night and took a swing on a guy they believe in. You’ve got to love the courage it took to make that pick.
Round Two of the draft starts tonight at 8 Eastern. Here’s a look at the best players available. And here are the full draft results.
