NBA Fines and Suspends Blazers Directors for “Illegal Contact”

The Blazers have been fined $100,000 by the NBA for illegal contact with Yang Hansen, the Chinese center they selected 16th overall in the 2025 draft. The league also announced a two-week, unpaid suspension for two of their assistant general managers, Sergi Oliva and Mike Schmitz, for their involvement in the incident, which occurred in December 2023 and has since been confirmed.

In response, the Portland team issued a statement, shared by Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report, accepting responsibility.

“When this matter was brought to our attention, the Portland Trail Blazers reported the situation to the NBA. The team fully cooperated with the investigation and accepts the league's decision.”

It's worth noting that 20-year-old Yang Hansen was a surprising pick for the Trail Blazers last June, being selected 16th in the draft. At the time, the team justified the decision by stating they had been closely monitoring him for several years. However, it has now been revealed that there was a “violation of rules governing contact with players ineligible for the draft.” This means Portland officials contacted the center when he was still 18 years old and had not yet declared for the draft, playing for the Qingdao Eagles in the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).

The 20-year-old, 7-foot-1 Chinese center has drawn comparisons to Nikola Jokic due to a similar skill set, particularly his passing ability. Despite showing flashes of his talent, Hansen, who participated in the Rising Stars Challenge at the Los Angeles 2026 All-Star Game in February, still requires significant development, both physically and technically, to integrate into a regular NBA rotation.

The young player, a native of Zibo city, has shown more of his potential with the Rip City Remix, the Trail Blazers' G League affiliate, where he averaged 17.1 points and 9.1 rebounds in 14 games. For the main team, he appeared in 41 games but with limited usage, averaging just 7.2 minutes and 2.3 points.