Based on the opinions of armchair general managers and mock drafts, the Portland Trail Blazers trading back to select center Yang Hansen with the No. 16 pick in Wednesday night’s NBA draft was a head-scratcher.
Inside the Blazers’ Tualatin practice facility, where the franchise’s brain trust under GM Joe Cronin had been scouting Yang for nearly two years, the pick was a no-brainer.
Yang was their guy, regardless of how many mock drafts projected the 7-foot-1 center out of China to go in the second round. And they got their guy while also accumulating other assets.
The Blazers used the No. 11 pick to draft Washington State wing Cedric Coward, then traded his rights to Memphis for the No. 16 pick, a future first-round pick via Orlando and second-round picks in 2027 and 2028. All to get the player Cronin said they would have selected at No. 11.
And what exactly did they get in Yang, 20? Very much a project. But one Cronin said is unique enough to bank on.
“His ceiling is very high,” Cronin said following the draft. “It’s extremely difficult to find a young player of that stature with this skillset. And it’s translatable stuff that we’ve seen really, really skilled big men that can do all the things that he can do, typically succeed in our league. Yeah, it might take him a little time, but as he figures out the speed and pace of our game, I wouldn’t put a ceiling on him. He’s that talented.”
The Blazers enter an offseason with the highest level of expectations for an upcoming season since trading Damian Lillard to Milwaukee in 2023. Portland went 36-46 last season after going 23-18 in the second half.
On Monday, they agreed to a deal that sends guard Anfernee Simons to the Boston Celtics for guard Jrue Holiday, a two-time All-Star, who should enhance the team’s chances of reaching the postseason.
The selection of Yang likely doesn’t move the needle in that direction. But Cronin is confident that the young center could contribute now while building toward greater things in the future.
Joe Cronin
Trail Blazers general manger Joe Cronin discusses the draft selection of center Yang Hansen out of China during the 2025 NBA draft. Cronin held a press conference at the team's Tualatin practice facility on July 25, 2025. (Photo by Aaron Fentress).Aaron Fentress
“He obviously has great size at 7-2,” Cronin said. “Young. Just turned 20 tomorrow. High-end skillset. His ability to pass. His basketball IQ. His functionality in the post. His ability to step out. We think he’ll be a good free-throw shooter. We think he’ll make perimeter jump shots as well. Defensively, he’s a really smart player that can be pretty versatile in the post with his size and IQ.”
Yang was named the Chinese Basketball Association’s defensive player of the year in 2024 and an All-Star in both 2024 and 2025. This past season, Yang averaged 16.6 points and 10.5 rebounds per game. He shot 58.6% from the field and blocked 2.6 shots per game.
The scouting process with Yang began in the fall of 2023 when a team scout saw him play in an under-18 event. Cronin then sent assistant general managers Mike Schmitz and Sergi Oliva to China to watch Yang play.
They returned impressed.
Further scouting led the Blazers to hope to see Yang enter the 2024 draft. He did not, so the Blazers kept tabs on him for another year.
They liked what they saw from him during his season in China, at May’s NBA combine in Chicago, Illinois and especially during a workout at the team’s Tualatin facility on May 29.
That workout included Connecticut forward Liam McNeeley (taken 29th by Phoenix), Illinois forward Will Riley (21st to Utah), Michigan State guard Jase Richardson (25th to Orlando) and Georgia forward Asa Newell (23rd to New Orleans).
CHINA-JINAN-BASKETBALL-CBA LEAGUE-SHANDONG VS QINGDAO(CN)
Yang Hansen L of Qingdao Eagles goes for a basket against Christ Koumadje of Shandong Heroes during a match between Shandong Heroes and Qingdao Eagles at the 2024-2025 season of the Chinese Basketball Association CBA league in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province, Dec. 23, 2024. (Photo by Zhu Zheng/Xinhua via Getty Images)Xinhua News Agency via Getty Ima
Yang performed so well against that level of competition that Cronin said the Blazers exited that workout further convinced that he would be their draft target.
“Between our scouts identifying him early on and then some of our big key decision makers seeing him very early on, I felt like we had a big advantage in our scouting process and building our book on him as a player,” Cronin said.
Still, Cronin said he did his due diligence shopping the pick around the league for a veteran player to help the team win next season.
Last year, the Blazers traded the No. 14 pick, a future first and Malcolm Brogdon to Washington for forward Deni Avdija, who had a spectacular first season with the Blazers.
But nothing like that deal materialized.
“This time around, we took a spin, took a lap with that pick, didn’t find anything we liked better than the opportunity to do what we did tonight,” Cronin said.
Consequently, the Blazers entered the draft eyeing Yang, but hoping to trade back and still get him while acquiring assets.
“The question is always, how far can you move back and still have a realistic chance of getting him?” Cronin said. “And how viable is it that you can move back into that range that makes sense?”
Despite many mock drafts having Yang in the second round, Cronin was convinced that other teams were probably eyeing Yang just like he was. Even moving back to No. 16 gave Cronin pause.
“We weren’t much more comfortable beyond 16,” he said. “So, for us, it was too important to get him. We decided to do what someone called “reach.’ We decided to take that swing and overdraft, technically, a player that we just really valued. It shows what we thought of him.”
2025 NBA Draft - Round One
Yang Hansen (R) shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver (L) after being drafted sixteenth overall by the Memphis Grizzlies during the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center on June 25, 2025 in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)Getty Images
Cronin said he sweated things out from picks 12 through 15 until he knew for sure Yang would be there at 16.
Cronin credited the entire organization for both securing Yang and assets.
“The draft is the culmination of a ton of work from a lot of different departments and groups,” he said. “But our scouts, our analysts, basketball ops, health and performance. Where does it end? There’s just so many people that contribute to this. Especially a year where we make an unconventional pick.”
The Blazers now have five centers on the roster, including Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan, selected with the No. 7 pick in last year’s draft, Robert Williams III and Duop Reath.
“I think we’ll figure that out over time,” he said.
There is speculation that the Blazers could trade Ayton. Plus, Williams is coming off another injury-riddled season. Reath served well as the No. 3 center last season but has one year remaining on his contract. It’s also possible that Yang spends a lot of time developing with the Rip City Remix in the G League.
“There will be a big emphasis in pouring into him and getting him to his peak,” Cronin said.
Many among the fan base on social media were not pleased with the selection, which caught most off guard.
To them, Cronin said: “I would just ask, give him some time. Let him settle in and watch him grow. And I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised.”
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook)