The Clippers also had an interest in Hansen Yang, Frank and Tyron Lu were staring at him for two hours

Yang Hansen officially debuted with the Portland Trail Blazers. He chose the No. 16 jersey, which coincides with his draft pick. For the Chinese men's basketball team, there has been no first-round rookie in a long time. Following Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, Yang Hansen became the highest first-round rookie with 16th pick, just one step away from the 14th pick in the lottery. In fact, if Yang Hansen participated in the draft last year, he would even be likely to be among the top ten. The Trail Blazers have been paying attention to him for a long time. As early as last year, well-known scouts across the United States suggested that he run for the election, believing that the 2024 Little New Year draft is a good opportunity for him.

However, Yang Hansen chose not to run at the time, and the Trail Blazers finally chose Klingen with the No. 7 draw. If Yang Hansen participated in the draft last year, the Trail Blazers would never hesitate, as their desire for him was evident. After being selected, Yang Hansen experienced doubts from Portland fans, but now more and more fans are beginning to recognize and like him. Yang Hansen himself revealed that his interests are simple: playing basketball, sleeping and playing games. This simple and unpretentious attitude towards life quickly resonated with American fans, believing that his personality was humorous and real. The reason why Yang Hansen is so popular may be related to his belonging to the "Fire Dragon Family". With Jokic's success, fans began to pay more attention to big men who could pass the ball.

In the past, people always said that Jokic was the "counter version" center, but after he won the championship, his voice gradually faded. Jokic invisibly improved the value of the core center in the inside and broke the traditional impression. Don’t simply attribute Yang Hansen’s success to the Chinese market effect, as it is too superficial. In fact, the senior management of the Trail Blazers team unanimously agreed to choose Yang Hansen, with a support rate of up to 100%. The Trail Blazers don't choose, and other teams are already eyeing him, such as the Timberwolves and the Hawks, all want to take him under their command. The Nets even prepared to choose Yang Hansen in the 19th pick, and Boss Cai came to celebrate in person, but was taken first by the Trail Blazers. The most important thing is that Yang Hansen performed extremely well in the trial training, directly pushing his pick up.

media person Zhou Peng revealed that the Clippers are also interested in Yang Hansen and have conducted two trials. Coach Tyron Lu and assistant coach Frank focused on watching Yang Hansen's special training for more than two hours, and did not even look at his phone throughout the whole process. After the training, they still remained unsatisfied and arranged for him to continue shooting, wanting to learn more about his shooting ability. Perhaps Tyron Lu had already conceived Yang Hansen's tactical use at that time: Who wouldn't like a 20-year-old player, who is outstanding in height, has strong passing ability, and often performs more on-the-spots than expected?

Centrals like Yang Hansen have extremely high potential limits. They are competent for many positions, but their growth cycle is relatively long. But once you grow up, your performance will never be bad. For example, Shin Kyung, Sabonis and Jokic all belong to this type. Now, the "Fire Dragon Family" has ushered in new members: the little Fire Dragon Yang Hansen, the Fire Dinosaur Shen Jing, the Fire Dragon Sabonis, and the Super Fire Dragon Jokic. Shin Kyung is 23 years old and is a fourth-year NBA student. He entered the league with a 16th pick at the age of 19.

Yang Hansen's growth trajectory is surprisingly similar to that of Shen Jing. He also admitted that he likes Shen Jing very much. When Shin Kyung entered the NBA, he used Jokic as the template, with Jaylen Green from the Rockets as the second place; and Yang Hansen was also selected with the 16th pick, and Henderson from the Rockets as the Tehwa. Shin Kyung has been down-to-earth for four years, from substitute to starter to All-Star. Yang Hansen was also a substitute for Klingen in the first year, and he needs time to grow slowly. However, Yang Hansen has one thing that looks very much like Yao Ming, that is, his confident and extroverted personality. For example, Yang Hansen admitted in an interview that he had "exploded several inside players", although he was unwilling to disclose the specific partner. Yao Ming also said back then: "I will play Tyson and Chandler at will." Zhou Peng also revealed that assistant coach Frank praised Yang Hansen for his significant progress in English. He was willing to speak and not be afraid of making mistakes. Yang Hansen responded humorously: "I just speak English, it's your problem if I don't understand it." These remarks are full of the taste of the post-00s, and such young people are exactly what the team needs. What’s even more interesting is that Tyron Lu also said to Yang Hansen: “Go to the draft!” As a result, the Clippers only ranked 30th in the first round, but failed to choose Yang Hansen, so they had to use the “Bief King” Yanik. In other words, Yang Hansen was at least selected for the first round steadily. The Nuggets Media said that they still want to miss the second round, but that was pure fantasy.