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In a draft that was expected to bring fireworks, the biggest surprise came from a player sitting in the Barclays Center bleachers.
Yang Hansen, widely projected as a second-round pick, was selected with the No. 16 pick by the Grizzlies, though he will be moved to the Trail Blazers via a draft-night trade. Yang was No. 35 on ESPN’s Top 100 and No. 48 on The Athletic’s board.
The 20-year-old from China, the first draft pick from the country since Zhou Qi in 2016, is relatively unknown in mainstream NBA circles. But he is being represented by one of the most prominent names in the business: Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group.
Paul, who was seen hugging Yang as he made his way to the stage at Barclays, rose to prominence as the agent of LeBron James. He’s one of the NBA’s most successful agents, negotiating more than $4 billion in contracts for James and other NBA stars, including Zach LaVine, Darius Garland, and Anthony Davis.
He’s also known for extracting additional value out of deals for non-All-Stars he represents. One example was in 2023 with Jerami Grant, who signed a five-year, $160 million deal with Portland, where he’ll now be teammates with Yang.
In last year’s draft, Paul and Klutch Sports pulled off an even more prominent draft day move. Paul reportedly informed teams to avoid drafting Bronny James Jr., LeBron’s son, so the Lakers could select him with the No. 55 pick. That is exactly what happened, and the father-son duo is together in Los Angeles.
Despite the surprise jump into the first round, Yang has impressed some folks in the league. He’s been dubbed the “Chinese Jokic” by many, including from within the Nuggets organization, per Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.
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