30 years old! Trail Blazers' big man! Out for the season with a stress fracture

Trail Blazers announced:Reese has a stress fracture and will miss the rest of this season, with full recovery anticipated.

This season, Reese is in his contract year, measuring 2.06 meters and playing power forward/center. He earns $2.22 million, has played 32 games all as a substitute, averaging 8.1 minutes per game, scoring 2.9 points and 1.2 rebounds. Considering he is about to turn 30, his NBA career might be nearing its end, and he may return to the CBA next season.

This player was with Qingdao team in the 22-23 season, playing 39 games, averaging 25 minutes, contributing 18.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.2 steals, and 2 blocks per game. His shooting percentage was 45%, with an average of 1.7 three-pointers made at a 33.2% rate per game, while Yang Hansen officially started his CBA career in the 23-24 season.

Although Yang Hansen and Reese have never played together in the CBA, they often trained face-to-face on the Qingdao men's basketball team. Back then, the former was still a minor but was not outmatched and even sometimes outperformed.

Since joining the Trail Blazers in the 23-24 season, Reese has been recommending Yang Hansen to the team's management, indirectly helping this Chinese player join Portland last summer as the 16th pick in the first round, making Reese a close mentor figure.

Regarding the idea that Reese’s injury or departure could lead to more playing time for Yang Hansen on the Trail Blazers... actually, the two are not direct competitors, as they often play together since one mainly plays the four spot and the other the five spot as a big center.

Yang Hansen’s biggest competitor on the Trail Blazers is still Lowry, who is also in a contract year this season with a salary of $13.29 million. Lowry has been put on the trade block and might leave before the trade deadline on February 6.

Of course, no matter who leaves, if Yang Hansen wants to secure his place on the Trail Blazers, he must focus on himself and prove his worth with performance. Otherwise, no matter how many opportunities he gets, it will be futile.

So far this season,the Trail Blazers hold a 23-25 record, ranking ninth in the Western Conference, leading the 11th-place Grizzlies by 3.5 games., they have a good chance this year to secure a play-in tournament spot and push straight into the playoffs.