“Heo Woong is a hidden hero.”
Professional basketball’s Jeonju KCC pulled off the biggest ‘surprise’ in the last days of the free agency market. A day before the deadline for free agency, the team signed ‘superstar’ Choi Jun-yong (29) from Seoul SK, creating a huge buzz in the basketball world. .
There is a story behind KCC’s “surprise show,” as the team initially did not want to enter the race to sign big free agents. It was a dramatic drama in which a ball shot by ‘mediator’ Heo Ung (30) became a ‘buzzer beater’ after a fastball.
On the 17th, Heo Ung came to the KCC gym for a personal workout and asked for a meeting with head coach Choi Hyung-gil. He suggested signing Choi Jun-yong. Regardless of his personal relationship with Choi, he said he was the player the team needed to win the championship. “From the looks of it, he hasn’t negotiated directly with anyone, and if KCC extends a hand, he’ll take it,” Heo explained.
Choi was taken aback by the unexpected offer. He had decided to close his wallet in the free agency market this year. Instead of signing guard Lee Ho-hyun (formerly of Samsung) on May 15, the team decided to release all of its free agents (Lee Jong-hyun, Park Kyung-sang, and Park Se-jin) and not sign any more. KCC has been called a typical “big money” team. The team has always been known as a typical ‘big money’ team, paying the so-called ‘luxury tax’ by exceeding the salary cap. However, this year, the company’s initial policy was not to exceed the salary cap.
Choi effectively told He Ung no. “We can’t afford to sign him from our salary cap. It’s nice of you to say it, but it’s not realistic.”
The next morning, Choi called head coach Jeon Chang-jin and general secretary Cho Jin-ho to relay his meeting with Heo. “Still, it’s not fair to cut him short when the team’s ace is asking for him,” Choi said. “Let’s see what his true feelings are. If he says ‘no’, we’ll feel less sorry for He Wong.”
That afternoon, Choi and the former coach met with Junyong in person one after another. First, Choi asked him if he really wanted to join the team. Choi said, “If you call me, I’ll come right away.” He explained that KCC was the first team to call him, and his pride was hurt when he heard that they were going to make a ‘sign-and-trade’ deal.
He then confided in the former coach. In fact, the former coach had a prejudice against Choi Jun-yong because he had a strong ‘bad boy’ image. As he revealed at his press conference on the 22nd, he also said that he and Choi didn’t like each other. The former coach said, “There were many grievances that Choi Jun-yong hadn’t been able to say, such as, ‘He’s a rascal as a player on the other team, but he’ll be the best when he joins our side,’ and the misunderstanding was resolved by his macho confidence and honesty.” “It was an opportunity for me to realize that I should meet people and not judge them just by hearing them,” he said.토토사이트
After the former coach gave the ‘OK’ sign, it was one thing after another. The team called Choi back to the clubhouse on the morning of the 19th to sign the contract. Later in the afternoon, Team A, which had been actively interested in signing Choi, went to his house to convince him, but the game was already over. The A’s last-minute sweetheart offer of ‘support to enter the U.S.’ was not enough to change Choi’s mind, as KCC made the same promise.
Heo Ung, who gave him a welcome bouquet at the signing ceremony, said, “We’ve been roommates since we were at Yonsei University, and he and (Heo) Hoon are like brothers. I’m happy to play with him,” and Choi Jun-yong responded by saying, “I’ll put a championship ring on my brother Heo Woong, who doesn’t have one.”