Trail Blazers Fined $100K For Illegal Contact With Yang Hansen; Two Execs Suspended
Hoops Rumors • • sports
Key Points:
- The NBA fined the Portland Trail Blazers $100,000 for illegally contacting Yang Hansen before he was draft-eligible, and suspended assistant general managers Sergi Oliva and Mike Schmitz for two weeks without pay.
- The Blazers self-reported the violation, cooperated fully with the NBA investigation, and accepted the league’s determination.
- Yang Hansen, a 20-year-old center compared to Yao Ming and Nikola Jokic, was selected 16th overall in the 2023 draft after the Blazers closely monitored his development in the Chinese Basketball Association.
- Hansen has had limited playing time in his rookie NBA season, averaging 2.3 points and 1.6 rebounds in 7.2 minutes over 41 games, but has performed strongly in the G League with the Rip City Remix.
- He was also selected to participate in the Rising Stars event during the NBA All-Star Weekend.
