The Portland Trail Blazers have been one of the surprise teams of the 2025-26 NBA season so far, sitting at 4-2 after Friday night’s 109-107 home win over the Denver Nuggets. The Blazers are led by a crew of athletic, versatile wings, including Deni Avdija, who scored 23 points to go along with four rebounds and four assists in the win over Denver.
In June, the Trail Blazers surprised many by trading with the Memphis Grizzlies for the draft rights of center Yang Hansen, who went No. 16 overall as a prospect many thought would be more suited for the second round. The move was made especially confusing by the fact that Portland already had multiple rotational-level centers on its roster, including the previous year’s lottery pick, Donovan Clingan.
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Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hansen hasn’t been able to see much playing time thus far in his rookie season, and on Saturday, the team made a move that should allow him to get more opportunity.
Yang Hansen walks to the stage after being selected as the 16th pick by the Memphis Grizzlies. Brad Penner-Imagn Images
“OFFICIAL: The Trail Blazers have assigned center Yang Hansen to the @ripcityremix for scheduled practices,” reported the Blazers’ official account on X.
The Rip City Mix are the Blazers’ G League team, and Hansen will get much more opportunity to work on his skills and conditioning. During the NBA Summer League and the preseason, Hansen flashed some intriguing abilities at 7-foot-1, including impressive court vision as well as a soft shooting touch.
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Meanwhile, the Blazers as a whole look ready to reinsert themselves into the Western Conference playoff race after a few down years. The team has been stockpiled with athletic, rangy wings, including Shaedon Sharpe, Advija and defensive specialist Toumani Camara, who frequently holds other teams’ best players to off shooting nights.
Making matters more impressive for the Blazers is that they are doing this all while navigating the controversy surrounding head coach Chauncey Billups, who was recently arrested by the FBI for alleged involvement in rigged poker games and has since been placed on unpaid leave.
The Blazers have a couple of days off before they try to push their record to 5-2 when they host the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday at 10 p.m. ET.
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Related: Trail Blazers Sign Second-Team All-Defense Forward to $82M Contract Extension
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Nov 1, 2025, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.