The choice that became a boomerang
The choice that became a boomerang
Blog Article
During the 1998-1999 season, Daejeon Hyundai showed off its perfect performance, being called the complete team. The team had an overwhelming season through a combination of the "Izzo Trio" and Johnny McDowell and Jackie Jones. For the first time since the 10-team system, the team recorded a winning percentage of over 70 percent (33-12, winning percentage .733) in the regular league, and beat Kia four wins and one loss in the championship game to achieve its second consecutive win.
Nevertheless, then-Hyundai coach Shin Sun-woo wanted a change. Both players renewed their contracts, but decided that a foreign player with stronger grip under the basket than Jones, who is capable of defense and three-point shooting, would be able to maintain the top position. Hyundai pursued a trade before the draft of foreign players, and the trade was concluded due to compatibility with SK. Soon after SK drafted Lorenzo Hall as the second choice, they exchanged with Jones.
Hyundai needed another safety device in order to recruit Hall. Gold Bank, which had the first right to designate at the time, had to prevent mishaps in nominating Hall. To that end, Hyundai handed over Park Jae-hyun and Jinyoung Jung to Gold Bank and received Choi Myung-bak's nomination. Gold Bank, which strengthened its players' capacity in Korea by trading with Hyundai, selected Eric Ivertz, not Hall, as the top priority. In fact, it was a three-way trade.
In the 1999-2000 season, Hyundai also recorded 33 wins and 12 losses, becoming the first team to win three consecutive regular league titles. Back then, people would not have expected that switching between Hall and Jones would turn into a boomerang. SK, which formed the twin towers of Seo Jang-hoon and Jones, instantly emerged as the rival of Hyundai. It added a big deal. After judging that it could not compete for the presidency through the combination of Seo Jang-hoon and Hyun Joo-yup, SK sought to strengthen its shooter. There was no doubt about Hyun's performance and star quality, but balance by position was more important.
SK demanded +α with Moon Kyung-eun from Samsung, which wanted Hyun, but made a sharp turn and secured a big deal with Gold Bank due to mismatched cards. As a result, Hyun moved to Gold Bank, and SK received 400 million won in cash with Cho Sang-hyun, the first rookie in the 1999 draft. The deal was announced on December 24, 1999, and is still being called the "Christmas Big Deal."
It was an additional trade conducted by SK manager Choi In-seon, who relieved Seo Jang-hoon's burden by recruiting Jones. "It was an adventure for me as well. I couldn't let Hyun go easily because he was such a big shot. There was strong opposition, but I persuaded the general manager by securing the victory. Looking back, I wonder how he pushed for it." 파워볼사이트
Although SK ranked second only by one game in the regular season, it beat Hyundai four wins and two losses in the championship game to clinch its first championship. As a result, Jones has become a boomerang to Hyundai. He played a double-double in all six games in the championship game, posting 18.2 points, 13.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 3.7 steals and 2.2 block shots, putting a dagger in his home. "He was traded right after signing a contract, and when he was playing against Hyundai, he was highly motivated. He said he wanted to do better in the game against Hyundai, and he proved it with the results," recalls Lee Jae-ho, who has been working for the SK basketball team.
If it weren't for the two trades SK made, wouldn't the first three consecutive championship games in KBL history have been won by Hyundai, not by Ulsan Hyundai Mobis? Hyundai was selected as the fifth player in the 2001 foreign player draft after its name changed to KCC, reuniting with Jones.