Lee Dae-sung (33-Korea Gas Corporation), who has been attracting attention in the professional basketball free agency (FA) market, will try again to go overseas. On May 20, KOGAS announced, “Respecting Lee Dae-sung’s intention to go overseas, we have decided not to sign a contract at this time,” adding, “If he is not confirmed to play in an overseas league by the end of May, he will be subject to renegotiation with his original club according to the Korean Basketball League (KBL) regulations, so we are monitoring the situation.”
Lee is also in talks with Japan’s B-League, with the possibility of playing in Australia. For Lee, it’s a second chance. After joining the Ulsan Hyundai Mobis in the 2013 rookie draft, he joined the Bayhawks of the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) G League in October 2017 and returned to the Mobis just two months later. At the time, the move was controversial, but his “challenging spirit” was recognized. After leading Hyundai Mobis to the championship in the 2018-2019 season, culminating in the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Championship Finals, Lee was traded from KCC to Orion (now Day One) to Gasworks. It was a rough time for the former championship MVP.
However, he still proved his usefulness and popularity in the 2022-2023 season, ranking first in domestic scoring (18.1 points per game) and second in the All-Star Fan Vote. He was able to find a way to live abroad again thanks to the club’s consideration and unyielding spirit of challenge.
Lee Dae-sung’s move overseas was a strong possibility from the start of the free agency period. In fact, there were a few Korean teams that considered signing him. However, Lee’s will was firm. An official from GASCO said, “About two teams offered to sign him as a free agent, but he didn’t even look at the conditions such as salary, so his willingness to go abroad was clear.”
In this situation, the team decided to let Lee Dae-sung go for the greater good. According to KBL regulations, if an FA goes overseas after receiving a letter of intent from a club, he is suspended for five years. It was to prevent a ‘suspension of eligibility’ situation that the club declared “no contract, support for overseas expansion” through an official press release early on and conveyed the message that they hoped other clubs would not submit an expression of interest.
In particular, Lee Dae-sung is ranked within the top 30 in terms of compensation, so he can receive ‘1 compensation player + 50% of compensation’ or ‘200% of compensation’ if he transfers to a free agent. He can also sign and trade, but the club has made concessions.메이저놀이터
The club is currently considering three options for Lee to go overseas, including releasing him as a free agent without a contract, voluntarily leaving the club, and announcing his retirement. No-contract and voluntary departure have the same effect in that the player can return within a year after going overseas. However, no-contract means that the original team does not own the player, and voluntary withdrawal means that the player is released after signing a contract with the original team. If you announce your retirement, you cannot return to your original team until one year after going abroad.
All three of these options are not a “lose-lose business” for Lee. Since we don’t know how the situation will change in a year’s time, Lee Dae-sung can either adapt to the overseas league and continue to settle in, or return to GASCO or another team in Korea to continue his career.
The club said, “We believe that Lee Dae-sung’s challenge to go overseas is a meaningful challenge for the development of Korean basketball,” and Lee Dae-sung said, “I am grateful to the club for allowing me to take on the challenge and want to show good results.”