The Portland Path Blazers got here beneath fireplace for selecting Yang Hansen within the first spherical of the NBA Draft, though Wealthy Paul was not stunned to listen to his title referred to as that early.
Wealthy Paul appears to have the ability to all the time put himself in the fitting place on the proper time, and the truth that he’s representing Yang Hansen, the Portland Path Blazers’ sixteenth general decide within the 2025 NBA Draft, ought to be telling.
Yang’s choice puzzled many and was the lowest-graded decide in the complete first spherical. Seen by many as a second-round choice, Yang was not even invited to the inexperienced room and needed to stroll from the stands to the stage to shake Adam Silver’s hand.
Nevertheless, Paul, his agent, appeared to suppose he may very well be the steal of the draft.
Paul is a longtime private buddy of LeBron James and is thought to be one of the crucial highly effective figures in sports activities. His company, Klutch Sports activities, represents a few of basketball’s greatest stars and is all in on Yang and his success.
“We knew he had been rising,” mentioned Paul on draft night time. “The staff is doing a fantastic job with Hansen. However he’s additionally carried out a fantastic job. I imply, Hansen is an effective ballplayer. He was a shocker to draft, clearly, however no shock to me.”
Whereas Yang and the Blazers have confronted their share of criticisms because the draft, there isn’t any doubt about Yang’s upside. He has been dubbed the “Chinese language Jokic,” though that could be very optimistic. Nonetheless, he appears prepared and in a position to break free from the rigidness that has held Chinese language basketball gamers again prior to now.
“He got here in, and he labored onerous all through the complete course of,” Paul continued. “He had a fantastic staff with him. They came visiting from China with him. Our staff did a extremely good job with him, led by Jim Jiang. It’s been nice. He’s a pleasure to have, so I used to be excited for him.”
Yang was not top-of-the-line gamers within the CBA, though he was very productive, successful Rookie of the Yr. China has not boasted an NBA star since Yao Ming, and their developmental system prioritizes top and fundamentals greater than really feel and creativity, so Yang can be sturdy in some areas and weak in others.
In two seasons with the Qingdao Eagles, Yang averaged 15.8 factors, 10.7 rebounds, and a pair of.4 blocks. The passing chops are actually there, though he isn’t a taking pictures risk and could be very turnover-prone.
China invests closely in basketball, though the CBA is dominated by worldwide expertise. China, nonetheless centered on discovering the subsequent Yao Ming, tends to show basketball like a topic in class, with a slower tempo and fewer creativity, stopping them from maintaining with different international locations that preach adaptability.
Yang just isn’t proof against these shortcomings, though he has surrounded himself with some American influences, together with Paul.
With China determined to interrupt into the NBA, it is smart that Yang would have the sources to rent Paul, and there’s hope that the nationwide staff, which has by no means discovered a lot success, will begin to modernise their strategy, permitting the CBA to rival the European Leagues and change into a hotbed for draft expertise.
