On July 11, a long-time scout for the New Orleans Pelicans revealed to Song Xiang, a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily, that Yang Hanshen has garnered the attention of multiple NBA teams.
The original text is as follows:
The Chinese national basketball team is currently participating in the NBA Summer League in the United States, where Yang Hanshen has made a remarkable impression in some games. On the 11th, an individual who works as a scout for the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans told a reporter from the Beijing Youth Daily that several NBA teams’ scouts have inquired about Yang Hanshen over these past few days. “Previously, the NBA did not have a high level of understanding of Yang Hanshen. I believe that if he were to participate in the NBA draft in the future, he would definitely be selected. The only question is whether it would be in the first round or the second. Personally, I think he has the potential for a first-round pick,” the scout said.
This NBA scout previously served as an American agent for the CBA but no longer engages in player agency business. Currently, one of his roles in the U.S. is working as a scout for the Pelicans. During last season’s CBA period, some NBA scouts had traveled to China to conduct on-site evaluations of Yang Hanshen. This scout also requested to evaluate him for the Pelicans but was unable to do so due to certain reasons. However, with the Chinese national team competing in the summer league in Sacramento this time, the scout was present to watch and evaluate.
In fact, earlier this year, this scout had prepared a scouting report on Yang Hanshen for the Pelicans. Although the content was not made public, he disclosed that generally speaking, Yang Hanshen’s offensive capabilities are acceptable, but his defensive footwork is slow. This might be the area that he most needs to improve upon.