Revealing the 16th pick for the Trail Blazers! The battle started quietly, GM was worried about being intercepted

The Trail Blazers chose Yang Hansen in the 16th pick, which surprised many people, which shows that the Trail Blazers attach great importance to Yang Hansen. In addition, the reason why the Trail Blazers chose Yang Hansen at such a high pick is related to the fact that many teams want to choose Yang Hansen. In an interview, Trail Blazers general manager Cronin admitted that they felt that it was not safe to pick below 16, so they changed the draft pick in this position to choose Yang Hansen.

"Yes, our goal has always been to trade as far as possible. We don't want to choose at an excessively high position unless necessary. We feel that it is not safe to be below the 16th pick. So it's very important for us to choose him. So we decided to trade this ranking. We decided to take the lead and choose a player we value very much at the higher pick. This reflects how much we value him," Cronin said.

Cronin's words are not unreasonable, because the two teams behind the Trail Blazers that were considered likely to choose Yang Hansen, both chose centers. The Timberwolves chose 2.11-meter French center Joao Belange in the 17th pick. The Hawks chose center Asa Newell, 2.09 in the 23rd pick. In addition, the Nets are seen as one of the teams most likely to choose Yang Hansen. The Nets have five draft picks in the first round of this year's draft, including the 8th pick, the 19th pick, the 22nd pick, the 26th pick and the 27th pick. Except for the 8th pick that is considered impossible to choose Yang Hansen, the Nets may be used to choose Yang Hansen in other picks.

Cronin took the lead and traded the 11th overall pick to the Memphis Grizzlies for the 16th overall pick, a future first-round pick and two second-round picks. The Trail Blazers have received good returns from this draft pick deal alone. The Trail Blazers finally chose Yang Hansen in the 16th pick. "So at the 16th pick we chose a player that we have been following for a while, and we are very excited about Yang Hansen, and I'm sure this will be a player we often talk about. We can't be more excited about it anymore. In our opinion, he is a very special talented player. Obviously, he has a great body size, 7-foot-2, Yang Hansen will be 20 tomorrow, and has very good skills, his passing ability, his basketball IQ, his versatility in the inside and his ability to go to the outside. We think he is a good free thrower, and we also think he has an outside shooting. He is a very smart player on the defensive end," Cronin said. The operation of the

Trail Blazers may have shattered the plans of the Timberwolves, Hawks, Nets and other teams.

In 2023, the Trail Blazers sent assistant general manager, former ESPN draft expert Mike Schmitz, and another Trail Blazers assistant Sergi Oriva to the CBA to watch the 18-year-old Hansen Yang's game. Afterwards, the Trail Blazers have been paying attention to Yang Hansen. Cronin even said that he had hoped that Yang Hansen would participate in the draft last year. In the end, the Trail Blazers waited for another year. Cronin also said: "We hold the same attitude in every year's draft, that is, we will choose the best players to choose. This year is no exception."

For the team's five centers, Cronin said: "No, I'm not worried. Let's wait and see how the summer will be. Let's see what players will be in the team at the beginning of next season, but I expect them to be in the team. Well, we have 5 centers, let's figure out how to play."

Objectively speaking, the Trail Blazers should make some trades in the summer. Who can stay in the lineup next season, Ayton, Klingen, Rowe, Dup Rees and Yang Hansen? Let's wait and see.