The Portland Trail Blazers are one of many intriguing young players heading into the NBA's regular season. After the team picked Yang Hansen in the first round of the draft, it faced questions about its long term plans. However, NBA veteran Boban Marjanovic is excited to see what the young center can do. In his opinion, Nikola Jokic and other talented centers have competition.

Hansen has shown flashes in Portland's preseason games, showing off what made the team pick him so early in the summer. He will face some big challenges playing in the Northwest Division, though. Despite having to clash with Jokic, Chet Holmgren, and Rudy Gobert regularly in his rookie year, Hansen's stock continues to rise as he gets ready for his first season in the NBA.

Marjanovic is impressed with Hansen's skillset. He spoke about the rookie on NBA Today, saying that he is the next great big man who will define the position.

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“This guy, it's amazing,” Marjanovic said. “How he moves, how he protects the ball, how he shoots…. He can basically do everything, like you want….”

Marjanovic is not the only basketball mind to have bought in on Hansen's talent. Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is ready to use the rookie in a variety of lineups. How he fits next to second-year pro Donovan Clingan will go a long way in determining what exactly Portland has in its young core.

The Trail Blazers are unlikely to contend for a playoff spot this season. However, the team's long-term outlook got a lot better this offseason. Portland reunited with Damian Lillard after the guard's time with the Milwaukee Bucks came to an abrupt end. This season is all about mentoring the young players and seeing how the pieces fit together.

If Hansen is as good as Marjanovic thinks he will be, the sky's the limit for the team's development.