Portland media: It's not Hansen's fault he can't fit in; the Blazers' playing style is particularly unfriendly to him.

On November 6th Beijing time, two Portland media figures who have long followed the Blazers talked about Yang Hansen on a podcast. They believe Hansen is not yet ready for the NBA, but his failure to integrate is definitely not his fault. The Blazers’ current playing style is especially unfriendly to him. Their specific views are as follows—

Yang Hansen has had very limited playing time recently; even when he gets on the court, it’s just five or six minutes per game. When he comes in, he either makes several turnovers or fouls, or allows opponents to drive and score. Occasionally, he can make a shot or draw two free throws, roughly accumulating experience before being subbed out again.It’s clear that he is not ready for the NBA yet, and there should be no debate about this.

He is currently shuttling between the Blazers and their G League affiliate, training with the team over there. I hope he can play in the G League because he desperately needs game experience— the more, the better. I also think he is ready to compete at that level. He surely wants to play; right now, he’s completely excluded from the NBA rotation and really needs games to stay in shape.

One thing I want to emphasize is that the Blazers’ system and style are actually very unfriendly to Yang Hansen.They primarily run a fast-paced, full-court press style that applies pressure on opponents from the start. We talked about Klingen before and said this style requires strong backcourt defense to cover—if someone breaks through the first line of defense, there must be rim protection. But what Hansen lacks most right now is exactly that. Imagine a player like Edwards speeding from the backcourt, blowing past Kamara at midcourt, and Hansen waiting under the basket to defend him—he simply can’t stop him and looks like a sitting duck.

This situation is indeed difficult because he still has many areas to improve. But what’s more confusing is,General Manager Cronin clearly knew we would play this style, so why pick him? Hansen is really in a tough spot now, getting almost no playing time on our team. I still believe Hansen can become a good player in the future, but with our current style, it’s hard to see how he fits in. This is absolutely not his fault.

Our initial plan for him was that the team’s starting lineup would be defensively strong but lacking offense,and he could serve as a backup center, acting as an offensive hub at the free-throw line to feed cutting teammates. But now the team’s system is completely different.Our bench plays faster and defends more aggressively, while his current style is the opposite. You can see his potential, but we haven’t given him opportunities nor provided a system that suits his strengths.

Of course, this doesn’t mean the Blazers need to change their current style, since it’s very effective. But we really haven’t given Hansen any chance to showcase his abilities. This is actually everyone’s problem—the management’s, the coaching staff’s, and Hansen’s own issues; it’s hard to pinpoint exactly. I actually like the team’s current style, and I think once it matures, we have the potential to be a championship contender. I don’t want to change just to accommodate anyone. People keep saying we should trade for Zion or the like, but I think we don’t need any players who don’t fit our system. I just want to see the team improve within our current style.

It’s really a pity for Hansen. He clearly has talent and ability, but he’s better suited for a slower-paced, half-court offense team, while our style is historically fast-paced, completely opposite.I feel sorry for him, but I don’t want to see the team change its style. It’s truly a tricky and unfortunate situation.

I don’t know if the Blazers’ G League team will copy our style or adjust tactics for him. Ideally,I hope Hansen spends the whole season in the G League, with the team designing some plays around him.But if he wants to establish himself on our team in the future, he’ll have to learn to adapt to our style. Actually, during the Summer League, I thought his fast-break performance wasn’t bad; sometimes he could push the ball and deliver good fast-break passes. I believe he has potential in this area, but now he has no chance to show it at the NBA level and must learn slowly in the G League.

The situation is tough, and we have to accept that. When we predicted his future earlier, we said his start would be difficult but would gradually improve. We know he works hard and has talent, but currently, there is a big gap in NBA experience, and he still has room to grow. Unfortunately,NBA teams don’t train much regularly. Staying with the team and getting those five or six minutes per game lets him feel the atmosphere, but playing 30 minutes per night in the G League, improving fitness and learning defense, would definitely help him more.So I sincerely hope he can go to the G League.

The Blazers have not given up on Hansen; it’s just that his current situation is very difficult. Also, I want to say that now is not the time to discuss Coward. When we predicted the draft, I was very optimistic about Coward and hoped the team would pick him. So now I am fully qualified to say that choosing him was the right decision. But in my opinion, saying such things is meaningless beyond self-praise and self-satisfaction.

Coward is indeed performing very well and is one of the best rookies in the league, fitting the Blazers perfectly. But at least give Hansen some time before saying things like "we should have picked Coward." The season has just started, and saying that now is rather selfish.