Lee Hyeon-jung (23, 202 cm), a promising player in Korean men’s basketball, has signed a summer league contract with the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Lee Hyun-joong’s father, Lee Yoon-hwan, the basketball coach of Samil High School, announced on the 3rd, “(Lee) Hyun-joong will be wearing a Portland uniform and participating in the summer league game.”
Lee Hyun-joong, who moved to the United States last month, conducted a workout with the Dallas Mavericks and Portland to test his skills.
Among them, Portland made a contract offer after praising Lee Hyun-joong’s shooting ability and defensive skills, said an official from Lee Hyun-joong’s management company, A2G.
With this, Lee Hyun-joong will be playing in the Summer League for the second consecutive year after playing for the Philadelphia 76ers last season.
The NBA Summer League is a competition held during the off-season where rookies and first- and second-year players form teams.
If he shows outstanding performance in the summer league, he may be awarded a formal contract.
Last season, Hyun-joong Lee recorded 10 points and 3 rebounds in a summer league game against the New Orleans Pelicans while playing for Philadelphia.
Portland is the team that selected Seung-jin Ha, the first Korean NBA player, in the 2004 rookie draft.
Lee Hyun-joong is scheduled to prepare to play in the first game of the Summer League against the San Antonio Spurs on the 14th (Korean time).
Positionally, he could face off against prospect Stefon Castle, who was recently drafted 4th overall by San Antonio, on offense and defense.
Following the game against San Antonio, Portland will play against Philadelphia on the 16th, Washington on the 18th, and Charlotte on the 20th in the summer league. All games will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA.
Coach Lee Yoon-hwan explained, “If he doesn’t sign a contract with an NBA team after completing the Summer League schedule, he will 토토 likely play in the Australian league where he currently has a three-year contract.”
Lee Hyun-joong signed a three-year contract with the Australian professional basketball league Illawarra Hawks in July last year.
According to Lee Hyun-joong’s side, Illawarra wants to continue with him for the new season, and as the contract includes a buyout, the possibility of him moving to another team cannot be completely ruled out.
Lee Hyun-joong played in 27 regular league games for Illawarra, averaging 17 minutes per game, and recorded 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds.
He ranked 5th on the team in scoring and 3rd in rebounds. His field goal percentage was 45%. He also recorded a shooterdown record with a 40% 3-point percentage.
Basketball prospect Lee Hyun-joong is the son of coach Lee Yoon-hwan, who played for Samsung Electronics as a player, and Sung Jeong-ah, who won a silver medal in basketball in Los Angeles in 1984.