Why invest in the Trail Blazers? Chinese-American owner Andrew Cherng: I'm very optimistic about our promising rookie Yang Hansen.

On April 3 Beijing time, the Trail Blazers held a press conference to introduce the new ownership team. One member is Panda Express's Andrew Cherng, who mentioned Yang Hansen.

When asked why he was interested in investing in the Trail Blazers, Cherng stated: "As a Chinese person, I'm very optimistic about our promising rookie Yang Hansen. That moved me... The NBA is the most popular sports league in China, and the potential impact we can create is still significant."

Cherng also said: "I'm excited. As new owners, we are currently 1-0 (the Trail Blazers' previous game was a 114-110 win over the Clippers). Let's keep that momentum going."

Previously, the Trail Blazers' principal owner Denden discussed some other topics, as follows —

Denden said: "I hope fans and the community will be proud of everything we do. Part of that is winning games, but it also includes how we treat our fans. We will create an excellent viewing experience and also aim to compete for victories."

"I care more about my character than my reputation. I know what I'm doing every day. I want to win, I want to achieve something, but I don't want to hurt anyone. Deep down, I've always wanted to do the right thing. I want to push the players to challenge things that are difficult to accomplish. They earn a lot, but that's not important. This job is inherently tough. When I see them giving their full effort, I genuinely admire them. Even if we lose a game, if it's with that kind of effort, I'm satisfied."

Denden also said: "You can be hands-on, but you also need to know how to delegate and trust others. However, I believe you shouldn't trust others to make decisions without sufficient information. I don't plan to be the decision-maker myself, because decisions should come from a complete process. Joe (GM Cronin) considered a major trade at the deadline, and I was aware of it. If another similar opportunity arises, I might be more aggressive."

Denden also stated that he was not familiar with the specifics regarding Chauncey Billups and said Splitt's work "has been very outstanding," but did not explicitly guarantee he would remain as head coach next season.

Regarding arena funding issues, he said: "We will negotiate and reach an agreement according to market rules. I think we already have a good framework and are moving forward. When I acquired the hockey team, because I'm from Texas, everyone thought I would move the team to Houston. I never considered that. You can write whatever you want, as long as it brings attention to the Portland Trail Blazers."