After the draft, Blazers GM Joe Cronin said they had been scouting Yang Hansen for 'almost two years'


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The NBA fined the Portland Trail Blazers $100,000 and suspended assistant general managers Sergi Oliva and Mike Schmitz for two weeks without pay for violating league rules "governing contact with draft-ineligible players" in connection with the team's scouting of Yang Hansen in December 2023, the league announced on Wednesday.

The Blazers said they "self-reported" this matter to the NBA.

"When this was brought to our attention the Portland Trail Blazers self-reported to the NBA," the team said in a statement. "The team cooperated fully with the investigation and accept the league's determination."

The Trail Blazers traded for Hansen, the No. 16 overall pick in 2025, on draft night, sending No. 11 pick Cedric Coward to the Grizzlies in a package that also brought a 2028 first-round pick and two second-rounders back to Portland. Before landing with Portland, Hansen played two seasons for the Qingdao Eagles in China's top professional league.

Hansen, listed at 7-foot-1 and 270 pounds, was 19 at the time, and Portland general manager Joe Cronin said in July that the team "deeply" scouted him before selecting him in the first round.

"We've been scouting him deeply for almost two years now," Cronin said after the 2025 draft. "We had a scout identify him during one of his under-18 events. And then we sent Mike and Sergi, our two assistant GMs, over to China that fall to go scout him live. When they came back from that trip, they left very, very impressed. We were actually hoping he would be in last year's draft (2024). He didn't declare last year, so we continued to scout him for the last year."

The Trail Blazers’ development plan for Chinese 7-footer Hansen Yang will include work in the G League as a rookie.

Hansen became something of a social media darling when his game footage playing for the Qingdao Eagles was introduced to the masses. He also had his moments in Summer League, but he has struggled to make an impact during his rookie year. In 41 games, he's averaging 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.2 minutes per game while shooting just 31% from the field.

Winners of seven of their last nine, the Blazers are 39-38 and currently the No. 9 seed in the Western Conference standings.

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