After Yang Hansen was surprisingly selected as the Portland Trail Blazers’ No. 16 overall pick, head coach Chauncey Billups said he didn’t envision Hansen and Donovan Clingan playing together. However, he did note that their skill sets “complement” each other. Billups also seemed to keep the door open for a potential double-big lineup in the future.<\/p>\n
“Who knows? Both of these guys are very young. In fact, Donovan was at the workout when he [Hansen] worked out, and was very impressed.” <\/p>\n
Despite being widely projected as a second-round pick, the Blazers believe Hansen can contribute immediately, which was also pleasantly apparent in his summer league performance<\/a>. With Deandre Ayton’s buyout and Robert Williams’ injury history, both recent first-round picks will have every opportunity to prove that they can fit together — and if not, why they deserve to be the one Portland should build around. <\/p>\n Which big man will Portland build around?<\/p>\n Clingan’s case comes on the defensive end, potentially giving him a leg up over Hansen, given how much the Blazers value their defensive identity. As a rookie, he tied for sixth in rebounds (14.3) and second in blocks (3.0) on a per-36 basis, resulting in the Blazers’ first All-Rookie appearance since Damian Lillard in 2013. Clingan’s increased role as Portland’s defensive anchor should result in a top ten defense this upcoming season. That’s going to be hard for them to move on from. <\/p>\n That is… unless Hansen is actually “Chinese Jokic” and the Blazers’ home run swing in the draft went into the upper deck. <\/p>\n