Cronin’s draft-night plan: Order Chinese takeout
Portland general manager Joe Cronin shocked the basketball world by selecting China big man Yang Hansen with the 16th pick in Wednesday’s NBA draft
One thing about Joe Cronin: He doesn’t mind putting himself out on a ledge.
Over the past three days, the Trail Blazers general manager has performed a high-wire act the likes of the Flying Wallendas.
On Monday, Portland sent high-scoring guard Anfernee Simons and a pair of second-round draft picks to Boston for guard Jrue Holiday, giving up years and money for defense, leadership and what the Blazers hope provides stability on the roster. It was a controversial move to say the least, with many pundits believing the Celtics got the better end of the deal.
On Wednesday, Cronin upped the ante, taking 7-2, 260-pound center Yang Hansen out of China with the 16th pick in the NBA draft.
Yang who?
The selection of the young giant — who turned 20 on Thursday — was the talk of the draft. Hansen isn’t an unknown — the days of that happening are over — but nobody thought he would be chosen nearly that high in the draft. ESPN projected him going at No. 35, the fifth pick in the second round. NBC Sports had him at No. 36, On3 Basketball at No. 42. None of CBS Sports’ seven experts had him going in first round.
“If Egor Demin going to Brooklyn (with the eighth pick) was 6.8 on the shocking scale out of 10, (the Hansen pick) registers around a 9.5,” CBS Sports analyst Matt Norlander said. “I can guarantee you people around the league are shaking their heads and texting each other right now going, ‘What on earth is Portland doing?’ ”
Cronin knows he made himself a target for criticism, and even ridicule, calling it “an unconventional pick” that he feels makes sense because he and his scouts fell in love with the talents and potential of the Chinese giant.
The Blazers began the day with the No. 11 pick.
“We took a lap with that pick and didn’t find anything we liked better than the opportunity to do what we did tonight,” Cronin said.
What they did was trade No. 11 to Memphis for No. 16, Orlando’s first-round pick in 2028 and a pair of second-round selections. And they chose a player who frankly was unlikely to be considered as draft material at that spot.
“The question is always how far can you move back and still have a realistic chance of getting him, and how viable is it that you can move back into that range that makes sense?” Cronin said. “It worked out well for us. We were able to move back five spots, pick up some nice assets and still get our guy.”
During a post-draft media availability at the Blazers’ practice facility, I asked Cronin why he didn’t move down even more in the draft, where he might reap even more in return. Was he concerned another team would take Hansen soon after No. 16?
“The goal was to get as far back as possible,” he said. “We didn’t want to overdraft if we didn’t have to, (but) we weren’t … comfortable beyond 16. It was too important for us to get him. We decided to do what some would call ‘a reach.’ We decided to take that swing and overdraft a player we really value.”
Which teams worried Cronin? Perhaps the Minnesota Timberwolves, who took 6-9, 240-pound center Joan Beringer, 18, of France at No. 17. Or the Brooklyn Nets, who are going young and held picks No. 19, 26 and 27.
Yang Hansen — shouldn’t it be “Hansen Yang”? — played the last two seasons for Qingdao in the Chinese Basketball Association. He was Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in 2024 and was a two-time CBA All-Star. In 45 games last season, he shot .586 from the field, .333 from 3-point range and .671 from the foul line, averaging 16.6 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 33.2 minutes.
The NBA’s biography sheet doesn’t even have the correct name of the Blazers’ draft pick
“We have been scouting him deeply for two years,” Cronin says.
A Portland scout identified him during a U-18 event in 2023, and Cronin sent assistant GMs Mike Schmitz and Sergi Oliva to China that fall to scout him live. They came back impressed. The Blazers were hoping Hansen would come out in the 2024 draft, but he didn’t declare, choosing to play another year in China.
The Blazers kept their eyes on him, observing him on a team from China that participated in the California Classic summer league in 2024, a prequel to the Vegas Summer League. They watched Hansen work out and play and met with him during last month’s NBA Combine in Chicago. In recent weeks, they brought him to Portland for a personal workout and spent more time with him.
Says Cronin: “Between our scouts identifying him and some of our key decision-makers seeing him early on, we had a big advantage in the scouting process and building our book on him as a player.”
For several minutes in his Q&A session with members of the Fourth Estate, Cronin extolled the virtues of the Blazers’ newest addition.
“This is a unique talent,” he said. “Young, great size, high-end skill set. We like his ability to pass — there are not too many who can do it like he can — his basketball IQ, his functionality in the post, his ability to step out (and shoot). We think he will be a good free throw shooter and will make his share of jump shots. He can be versatile in the post with his size and IQ.”
NEW: The Dean of Portland Sports is now on BlueSky.
Cronin said he learned something from watching this year’s NBA playoffs.
“I have noticed the way the really successful teams think the game,” he said. “Their basketball IQ, their skill sets, their ability to make each other better are a critical component to winning games. That is where Yang will help us. His basketball IQ is very high. He makes others better. That is what we are trying to do, to find guys who supplement and build up each other.”
The Blazers could have kept No. 11 and taken Cedric Coward, the fast-rising swing man from Washington State who had signed with Duke before coming out for the draft (and was taken by the Grizzlies with that pick). They could have chosen promising Arizona guard Carter Bryant, or Georgetown center Thomas Sorberg, or Lithuanian prodigy Kasparas Jakucionis. What, a media member asked, would Cronin say to Blazer fans, who surely are scratching their heads over his decision.
“Yang is a very capable player, a talented young man with a very bright future,” he said. “I would ask, give him some time, let him settle in, watch him grow. I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised.”
Cronin believes the Blazers have obtained a difference-maker.
“Yang is mature physically already,” Cronin said. “He is strong, firm and sturdy and can withstand the strength of the NBA guys. It is extremely difficult to find a young player of that stature with this skill set. Big men who can do all the things he can do typically succeed in our league. It might take him a little time, but as he figures out the speed and pace of our game, I wouldn’t put a ceiling on him. He is that talented.
“We care about our fan base. We want our fans to be excited about what next season is going to look like, and what the big picture looks like. In times when we make what some believe are questionable moves, you hope they trust we are doing our best to make the best decisions for this club.
“There is a lot of improvement that can still come as he grows and matures. There is an adjustment for every young player coming into this league. It is our job to get him there as quickly and as well as possible. There will be a big emphasis in pouring into him and getting him to his peak.”
Hansen is the third-highest draft pick from China in NBA history, behind Yao Ming (No. 1 in 2002) and Yi Jianlian (No. 6 in 2007). The hope is that Hansen’s production comes closer to that of 7-4, 310-pound Ming, a Hall of Famer, than to that of the 7-foot, 240-pound Jianlian, who averaged 7.9 points and 4.9 rebounds over five seasons with four NBA clubs before finishing his career in China.
Hansen will soon be in Portland, participating in Rookie Camp and with the Blazers in the Vegas Summer League. He will be with them next season, too, making it five centers on the roster, at least for now. Count them — Hansen, Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams and Duop Reath.
“I am not worried about that,” Cronin said. “We have a lot of centers, but they are good ones. We will figure that out over time. We approach every draft that we are going to take the best player available. We always make that a goal of ours. This year was no different. We’ll see how the summer goes. I suspect if all of them are with us at the start of the season and we have five centers, we’ll figure it out.”
My read: Reath’s chances of sticking just got lower than a limbo dance champion. Either Ayton or Williams, both on the final year of their contracts, might see a new address by October.
Cronin’s recent moves would seem paradoxical. On one hand, he acquires an aging guard with expectations that he becomes a major factor in Portland’s success next season. On the other hand, he drafts a kid who likely needs to develop before making major contributions.
“You have heard me say this before,” Cronin said. “We have to get more talented. This draft was an opportunity to do that. Adding another 20-year-old to the roster may not point directly to win-now maneuvers, but there is a balance — getting better for the long-term while trying to maximize your roster for next season. It is a delicate balance — I understand that.”
I went into the evening expecting Cronin to explain his reasoning in the Simons-for-Holiday trade. In an opening statement, he said, “That trade has not been finalized, so I can’t talk about it.”
So I will answer some of the questions you have for him (mind you, this is me talking, not Joe).
Simons is 26, Holiday is 35. Simons is in the final year of a contract that calls for him to make $27.7 million in 2025-26. Holiday is scheduled to make $32.4 million in 2025-26, $34.8 million in 2026-27 and has a player option for $37.2 million in 2027-28. Jrue averaged 11.1 points and 3.9 assists last season, lowest since his rookie year, and his other numbers dropped, too. What in the world were you thinking?
It is rare to have the opportunity to draft a player and person the quality of Jrue, a two-time NBA champion, a two-time All-Star, a six-time first- or second-team All-Defense selection. He has won the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year award three times, the NBA's Sportsmanship Award twice, and he is the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion for the 2024-25 season. He will fortify our defense, he will provide leadership and he will help bring along our young guards, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe.
Did Holiday’s age and salary give you pause about trading for him?
Jrue is not a high flier who relies on his athleticism. We think he can at least maintain his level of play over the next three years. Anfernee would have been looking for a big raise next summer. We like that Jrue is under contract and trust he will have a bounce-back season for us.
While we’re at it, what is your plan for the likes of Ayton, Williams and Jerami Grant? Do you keep them or trade them?
For now, we are keeping our options open on all of that. We have the rest of the summer to make those decisions.
Or something like that.
Time will tell if there is a method to Cronin’s madness. There is no doubt that the tank jobs of the past — dating to the end of the Damian Lillard era — are over.
The likely starting unit, barring offseason trades, will feature Grant and Deni Avdija at forward, Ayton at center and Holiday and Henderson or Sharpe at guard. In the rotation off the bench will be Henderson or Sharpe, Toumani Camara, Donovan Clingan and probably Matisse Thybulle. That leaves Williams, Dalano Banton, Jabari Walker and Kris Murray fighting for any other available minutes.
Given the current roster, I asked Cronin if it is a playoff team next season.
“Possibly,” he said. “I really like where we are headed. I love the steps we took last year. I am excited about the steps we’re going to take this year and beyond. I would love to get through this transaction window a little further. We still have a trade window and free agency coming up, but as is, with the stuff we have done already and the guys we have coming back, I am very excited about this group. I don’t necessarily have expectations of them reaching some benchmark other than I want them to get better every day, every week, every month.”
Last month, the Blazers were officially put up for sale. Since Paul Allen’s death in 2018, his sister, Jody Allen, has served as trustee of the Allen trust, and Paul’s old sidekick, Bert Kolde, has helped her run the team. Does Cronin — even with a new multi-year contract — feel pressure to win? Does he worry that his job could be on the line with new ownership? He sidestepped the question, revealing that Jody and Bert were on the premises for the draft.
“I am excited for them,” he said. “I am just trying to do what is best for this basketball team, for our fans, for the city, trying to build this team the right way. That is what we are locked in on — how do we get this team to make the next step?”
Cronin said he has equipped head coach Chauncey Billups — also armed with a contract extension through 2028 — with a roster with versatility.
“If we want to go extremely big, we can do that,” Cronin said. “If we want to play small ball, we can do that. If we want to put defensive stoppers everywhere, we can do that. If we want to put a lot of skill around a lot of cutters and athletes, we can do that.
“Chauncey has a lot of work to do, and a lot of opportunities to fulfill. There is a lot of talent on this roster. It is how to maximize that. I am looking forward to seeing how we will do with these new additions.”
The Blazers will almost surely be better than they were last season, when they finished 36-46 while making a belated and unrequited bid for a play-in berth. But San Antonio, a spot below them in the Western Conference a year ago, will almost surely be much improved, too. I could see Portland passing Phoenix and Sacramento, and possibly the aging Golden State Warriors, into 10th place and the final play-in spot in the West. Anything else seems like a stretch in a very strong conference.
One thing is for sure, though. The Blazers’ television ratings in China just went through the roof.
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