{"id":195619,"date":"2026-05-16T11:50:36","date_gmt":"2026-05-16T15:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=195619"},"modified":"2026-05-16T11:50:36","modified_gmt":"2026-05-16T15:50:36","slug":"blazers-yang-hansen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/05\/16\/blazers-yang-hansen\/","title":{"rendered":"The Blazers’ Regret About the 2025 Selection of Yang Hansen"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Portland Trail Blazers had a misstep in the 2025 NBA Draft. They held the 11th pick but traded down to the 16th. Now, Yang Hansen<\/a> has become the Blazers’ regret, especially with the team’s future looking brighter without him. Yang’s potential is still there, but he might be far too raw.<\/p>\n

The Blazers’ Regret About the 2025 Selection of Yang Hansen<\/h2>\n

Rookies from overseas are tough to gauge, especially when they do not get playing time. Immediately after drafting him, a lot of people were surprised with the Trail Blazers selecting Yang with the 16th pick. Initially, they held the 11th pick, which was used to get Cedric Coward<\/a>.<\/p>\n

That would have been the perfect pick for Portland, a team that has desperately needed perimeter shooting<\/a>. Coward would have also fit perfectly with the culture of Portland’s wings, complementing other hard-nosed defenders like Toumani Camara<\/a> and Kris Murray<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Portland’s Future is Less Promising With Yang<\/h3>\n

Most of the NBA community was confused when the Trail Blazers selected Yang. In mock drafts, the best-case scenario for him was to be a late first-round or early second-round pick. Seeing him jump to 16th was surprising, especially with the talent left in the pool.<\/p>\n

Aside from Yang, there were plenty of talented big men the Blazers missed out on. The Los Angeles Clippers picked Yanic Konan Niederhauser<\/a> with the 30th overall pick, and he showed solid potential. At the same time, Maxime Raynaud<\/a>, the 42nd pick, turned out to be spectacular in Sacramento.<\/p>\n

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Either Hansen Yang is gonna be Chinese Giannis or Chinese Bruno Cabboclo. A crazy gamble. But I guess we gotta see how it plays out.<\/p>\n

Now Portland also has 5 centers on the roster. So, one would imagine they need to do something about that.<\/p>\n

— Blazer Banter (@blazerbanter) June 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n