Trail Blazers Announce Assignment of Yang Hansen! US Media Predicts Role Unchanged Next Season: Unless He Makes Significant Progress This Summer

On March 11 Beijing time, the Trail Blazers officially announced that center Yang Hansen has been assigned to the development league affiliate, the Remix. So far this season, Yang Hansen has played 38 games for the Trail Blazers, averaging only 7.3 minutes per game, with 2.2 points, 1.5 rebounds, and 0.6 assists.

While his performance with the Remix has been decent, that is still just the development league. Expectations for Yang Hansen from the outside world certainly aren't merely about establishing himself in the development league. US media RipCityProject also analyzed Hansen's future —

Ideally, Yang Hansen should have been positioned to fill that (backup center) role. Robert Williams' final year with the Trail Blazers could have served as a transition, giving this rookie more time to adapt to the NBA. However, based on Hansen's performance on both offense and defense this season, he is still far from being able to provide stable contributions.

Hansen is only 20 years old, and we must maintain sufficient patience regarding his growth before judging whether this draft pick is successful. Before that, it's understandable that the Trail Blazers dare not hastily push him into high-intensity games;unless he makes significant progress during the offseason, this situation is unlikely to change next season.

The Trail Blazers also traded stretch big man Reese by the trade deadline. He underwent surgery for a right foot stress fracture and has been ruled out for the season. The team now can only hope Robert Williams remains healthy to finish the latter part of the season. But long-term, relying solely on him and Hansen for interior depth carries too high a risk.

Using two valuable first-round picks on centers yet still failing to solve the problem is precisely the negative impact of gambling on a high-risk, high-reward rookie like Hansen. The good news is that the Trail Blazers still have several solutions available this offseason.

The Trail Blazers could select a power forward who can also play the center position in the draft; there are several popular prospects fitting this type available late in the lottery.

Alternatively, the Trail Blazers could first address the uncertainty in the backcourt through the draft, then look for a replacement for Robert Williams in free agency — a veteran who can provide short-term help, buying more time to develop and observe Hansen.

Given the unconventional method used to draft Hansen, the Trail Blazers clearly have confidence in his long-term prospects. But this team already has playoff aspirations next season; they must take action to prevent the frontcourt, which was initially expected to be strong, from completely exposing its weaknesses in competition.