Yang

Hansen

The surprise pick in the first-round has provided plenty of optimism with his performance in Las Vegas. He is averaging 11.7 points, four rebounds, 3.3 assists and two blocks per game. Those numbers don’t pop, but he clearly has excellent feel for the game, and he also knocked down a trio of triples on Tuesday. The future appears to be bright for Yang, though it’s unclear how the rotation will shake out during his rookie season.

After recording a complete 10/4/5/1/3 stat line in his summer debut on Friday, Yang was not as impactful on Saturday. The rookie recorded five turnovers, a reminder that there will be nights like this for the 20-year-old as he gets acclimated to the NBA game. However, Yang’s abilities as a facilitator were still evident, and that’s an area where he can offer value. Portland moving on from Deandre Ayton helped free minutes for Donovan Clingan, who will be the starting center, and Yang. However, Robert Williams III is also on the roster, and his presence may allow Portland to take a more conservative approach to Yang’s playing time next season.

Sunday’s news adds another intriguing option to free agency, which officially opens on Monday at 6 PM Eastern. The Trail Blazers clearly needed to clean up their center rotation as far back as the February trade deadline, but they did not move Ayton or Robert Williams III. The need to move someone increased when Portland selected Yang Hansen with the 16th pick in Wednesday’s NBA Draft. Ayton was limited to 40 games this past season, averaging 14.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.0 three-pointers in 30.2 minutes. With Ayton no longer in Portland’s plans, the biggest fantasy winner is Donovan Clingan, who finished his rookie season as the starting center. Clingan could vie for top-100 value in fantasy leagues this year.

Yang is on his way to the Trail Blazers in a trade along with a 2028 first-round pick and two second-round picks in exchange for the No. 11 pick that the Grizzlies used on Cedric Coward. Yang is one of China’s brightest emerging stars, and along with Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, the 7’1, 249-pound center is one of the draft’s biggest prospects. He spent the last two seasons with the Qingdao Eagles, where his skill as a passer was evident. He’s got a deep bag for a center and excellent court vision to get teammates involved. Passing big men are cheat codes in fantasy hoops, and Yang could be a name to watch depending on how he develops in the NBA. He was one of the surprises of the first round, as most draft experts expected him to come off the board in the second round.