“We need to think about generational change”
“Changwon LG signed Yang Hong-seok to a five-year contract with a total compensation of 750 million won for the 2023-2024 season,” the team announced in a press release on July 17. The team was one of the BIG 3 in the free agency market this offseason.
Yang is a forward with a combination of physicality and shooting ability. He’s a rebounder and a workhorse. He’s been selected to the South Korean national team and has a lot of potential.
LG finished second in the 2022-2023 regular season. Under new head coach Cho Sang-hyun, LG exceeded expectations with a tight defense and quick offensive transition. In the best-of-four playoffs, they went toe-to-toe with Seoul SK even without Asem Marei (202 cm, C).
However, LG has an Achilles’ heel. It’s the lack of a forward with both scoring ability and height. “The coach said, ‘We need a 3 who can score and rebound,'” Yang Hong-seok told us. He told me how he was going to use me based on my position,” he said, describing what he wanted from LG as a “scoring forward.
After signing Yang Hong-seok, LG had a squad of Lee Jae-do, Lee Kwan-hee, and Yang Hong-seok. The offense, which has been heavily focused on the guard line, will be somewhat spread out. If Asem Marei and Dante Cunningham (203 cm, F) re-sign with LG, their offensive options will be more diversified. The defense and rebounding burden of foreign players could also be spread out.
However, LG’s desired Yang Hong-seok effect doesn’t end with “strengthening the scoring power of the forward line”. LG believes that the true Yang Hong-seok effect is “generational change. “The coach said, ‘After you’re done with the military, we’re going to change the generation,’ and he also told me in detail about his future plans for the team and me,” Yang Hong-seok said in an interview.
The LG official who handled the contract also said, “(Lee) Jae-do and (Lee) Kwan-hee are holding the center now, but we also had to think about the future core of the team. After Hong Seok-i goes to the military, we need to do that even more. In two years or so, we need Hongseok to be the center. In addition, younger players such as Yang Jun-seok and Yoon Won-sang need to develop,” he said, using ‘generation change’ as a keyword. 메이저놀이터
It will take at least three seasons to see the full impact of Yang Hong-seok’s signing. Both LG and the coaching staff need to be patient. As mentioned above, young players like Yang Jun-seok (181 cm, G), Yoon Won-sang (181 cm, G), Lee Seung-woo (193 cm, F), and Justin Gutang (188 cm, F) will have to take center stage.
With the departure of free agents Kim Jun-il (200 cm, C) and Shin Min-soo (196 cm, F), the role of the remaining long players will be crucial. Jung Hee-jae (196 cm, F), who has been playing well since the middle of the season, and Park Jung-hyun (202 cm, C), who will be returning from the military, will need to step up in the paint. Without the strength of the Korean big men, the effect of Yang Hong-seok could be a bubble.
With the change in team colors, LG is also making changes to its roster. The signing of Yang Hong-seok is a sign of that. It’s good to get immediate results, but that’s not what LG ultimately wants. We want to keep our colors strong for the future. That’s why I referred to what I wanted from Yang as “generational change.