The five centers compete for time! How does coach Billups evaluate Yang Hansen?

Sports Weekly All-Media Reporter Kong Dexin

In the early morning of June 28, Yang Hansen officially made a debut at the Portland Trail Blazers' press conference. In addition to general manager Cronin, head coach Billups also attended the press conference. How he uses Yang Hansen will also be the focus of people's attention for a long time in the future.

The Trail Blazers selected Hansen Yang to surprise everyone, not only because the 16th pick exceeded people's expectations, but also because the team already had four centers in the team - Ayton, Klingen, Robert Williams and Dup Rees. How will they allocate the center's time? This will become a question that Billups needs to answer. At the press conference, Billups first praised Yang Hansen very officially. He said that he was excited about Yang Hansen's arrival and liked Yang Hansen's golf quotient and team attributes. When asked if he had discovered Yang Hansen, Billups said no.

"It's definitely not me, I've been busy coaching the game. I found that Hansen's credit belongs to scouts Sergey and Mike. They are the best scouts. They traveled around the world to discover talented players. They discovered Yang Hansen. Then they introduced the situation of this child to me. Obviously, Joe (General Manager Cronin) has also paid attention to him for a long time. "Billups said, "The first time I saw Hansen play on the spot was in the Las Vegas Summer League. At that time, our team played against the Chinese men's basketball team. He played some performances on the court, which left a deep impression on me."

Then a reporter asked people's concerns about how to allocate Yang Hansen's playing time? Will he and another young center Klingen, the Trail Blazers, make the appearance at the same time?

Bilups replied: "No, to be honest, I don't plan to let them play at the same time now. But who said it is better? Both of them are young and will get better, and I do think the styles of the two can complement each other. Klingen was also present during Yang Hansen's trial. At that time, he praised Yang's skills and believed that they can promote each other."

As for how to use Yang Hansen, Bilups said: "It's too early to talk about him now. You can see that our team has a lot of centers. He needs to be better, learn offensive and defensive tactics and learn Learn language. The team is competitive in the interior, but Yang Hansen's ability has reached the NBA level. I can now feel at ease to send him on the court because he is so outstanding. In my opinion, he is not the kind of player you need to train for a long time, so you can't use too much now. But the center position in the team is indeed quite crowded. Ayton, Klingen, Rowe, Hensen, Dup Rees. This year he will focus on learning. Once he gets the opportunity, he will definitely make everyone's eyes shine. "

Compared with other players in the same position, Yang Hansen has another worrying thing, which is his language. Although he can communicate in English simply, he still needs an interpreter to help. How does Billups view this situation?

"It's a bit special. Although it still needs translation assistance, Hensen is very willing to learn English. I believe that the situation of translation will change soon. Moreover, basketball is a common language in the world. When he first listens, he may feel that his speech speed is very fast, and we will spend a lot of time together. He will naturally make some adjustments when watching videos and pausing." Billups said, "I'm excited for him, which is of course a challenge. I will also work hard. Now I will say hello, and I have been to China a few times. There are also French players in the team, and it's also fun to say hello to "Bonjour" every day. We don't know him that much, but Hensen is very cheerful, always having a smile on his face, and it's no problem to integrate."