Yang Hansen s DNP dilemma: When the NBA s kind words meet the cruel logic of professional basketball

When former Trail Blazers coach Billups used "the sky is the limit" to describe Yang Hansen at the post-game press conference, the most classic drama in the NBA was being staged under the night in Portland - the most cruel decision wrapped in the most beautiful words. Now being DNP (not included in the game roster) for 4 consecutive games by the new coach is not an accident, but the ultimate trial of "potential stocks" by the professional basketball system.

[The paradox of the No. 16 pick: from draft carnival to real ice bucket]

Yang Hansen's situation reveals the cruel core of NBA draft philosophy:

The gap in expected value of the pick: The 16th pick corresponds to immediate combat power, not a long-term lottery. What the Trail Blazers need is to fill in the gap between Avdija and Avdija. Post-court interior rotation;

Training ground truth: There is a generational gap between the lateral speed exposed in the preseason (4.3 seconds three-quarter sprint) and the NBA interior average (3.8 seconds);

Tactical adaptation dilemma: In the era of support centers led by Shen Jing and Holmgren, Yang Hansen's support advantage was offset by sharper athletic ability requirements.

[The Political Economy of Kind Words: Why Coaches Are Always Saying "He's Great"]

The essence of a coach's "kind words" is an inevitable product of NBA locker room culture:

Asset preservation needs: Public criticism will destroy trade value, and the Kings will continue to do so during Keegan Murray's DNP in 2022 Finally declared that "he is the future";

Sensitivity of international players: Chinese market factors require the management to remain superficially friendly and repeat the public relations tactics used by Zhou Qi during the Rockets period;

Maintenance of stability in the locker room: denying their own rookies will arouse the attention of the players union. In 2019, the Cavaliers criticized No. 8 pick Sexton and was warned by the league.

[Cao Cao logic of the Trail Blazers: Team governance that recognizes and corrects mistakes without admitting them]

The behavior pattern of the team management perfectly fits the traditional Machiavellian wisdom:

Materialization of mistakes: The rotation of Klingen as starter + Reese as substitute proves that Yang Han Sen is not in the plan;

Error correction is in progress: Trade negotiations have been initiated, trying to package future first-round picks to upgrade insiders;

Refuse to admit mistakes: The official caliber still insists that "the training plan requires patience", refer to the 2020 Warriors' handling of the Wiseman case.

[Chinese players’ NBA paradox: the eternal gap between expectations and reality]

From Wang Zhizhi to Yang Hansen, Chinese players have always faced three dilemmas:

Basketball culture gap: The absolute core play style of CBA and the requirements of NBA role players The need to tear;

Physical development lags behind: Domestic youth training emphasizes technology over physical fitness, and facing NBA-level confrontation is like a dimension reduction attack;

Public opinion backlash: Domestic media equates draft picks with the probability of success, ignoring the league data that 80% of first-round picks lose within three years.

[Revelations on the road ahead: Being DNP is not the end but the starting point of transformation]

Referring to historical cases, Yang Hansen still has three redemption paths:

Development League tempering: emulate Shen Jing (Rockets era), Jokic (Nuggets era) Period) Rebuilding confidence through the G League;

Technical transformation: Develop stable three-point shooting range (currently 21.3%) and evolve to a space-based fifth position;

Strategic shift: Learn from Yuta Watanabe's model and move through multiple teams to find the most suitable tactical system.

When Yang Hansen practiced three-pointers late at night in the Development League, his figure gradually overlapped with Zhou Qi ten years ago. The NBA has never been a safe deposit box for dreams, but a arena for survival of the fittest. Perhaps real growth begins with taking off the aura of "Show No. 16" and facing up to the professional logic behind DNP. For Chinese basketball, what is more important than cultivating the next NBA player is to build a basketball philosophy that can calmly accept that "there is a firmament beyond the sky."