The Portland Trail Blazers are on the hook for $100K after their involvement with young, Chinese center Yang Hansen was brought to the light of day.
On Wednesday, the league confirmed the ruling in a public statement addressing the matter. The reason for the penalties, according to the NBA, is for violating league rules involving premature contact with ineligible players.
“The NBA announced today that the Portland Trail Blazers have been fined $100,000, and Assistant General Managers Sergi Oliva and Mike Schmitz have each been suspended for two weeks without pay for violating league rules governing contact with draft-ineligible players in connection with the team’s scouting of Yang Hansen in December 2023,” wrote the NBA in a statement.
The 20-year-old big man was initially drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies in 2025 before being traded to Portland. This season, he’s been limited to just 41 games for the team, with averages of 2.3 points, 1.6 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 0.1 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game on 31.0% shooting and 11.9% shooting from three.
We don’t have many details on the extent of communications between Hansen and the Blazers, but teams are not allowed to have certain contact players who are not yet eligible for the Draft. Given that Hansen will turn 21 in two months, he wasn’t eligible when the Blazers scouted him back in 2023, meaning they broke league rules.
“When this was brought to our attention, the Portland Trail Blazers self-reported to the NBA. The team cooperated fully with the investigation and accept the league’s determination,” published the team in a statement.
On one hand, this was a clear violation of NBA protocol, and it’s why the Blazers fully cooperated with the investigation. In fact, they turned themselves in after discovering their own mistake, an example of team accountability rarely seen in the league today. It could be the only reason why the penalties weren’t stricter.
Ultimately, this is a tampering violation against the Blazers. They contacted a prospect before they were allowed to, giving them an unfair advantage that the NBA works to prevent. While they could have scouted Hansen with no issues, they aren’t supposed to host any private workouts or arrange for any formal communication with the player. It’s designed to preserve the integrity of the draft process and also protect young prospects who may be pressured into certain situations.
In this case, it might seem like a minor offense, but the NBA isn’t in a place where it can ignore these things right now. With issues running rampant league-wide, including problems related to gambling, domestic violence, and tanking, Adam Silver cannot afford to look weak. He must crack down on offenses like this, even when the team reports themselves.
As for the Trail Blazers, there will be no debates about the NBA’s ruling. They have already accepted their fate and moved on from the ordeal, with a key game against the Pelicans tomorrow. How the Blazers finish this final stretch will have major implications on their upcoming playoff run, and the last thing on their mind is making a fuss about a sin they are clearly guilty of.
