Ha Seung-jin, Heading to the NBA

The very first Korean basketball player has been selected in the NBA draft.

The tallest player in the country, Ha Seung-jin (2m23, 19 years old, Yonsei University), was selected as the 17th pick by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round, 46th overall pick, of the 2004 NBA Draft held in Madison Square Garden, NY, U.S.A. on June 25.

Ha`s manager, John Kim (SFX), commented right after the draft, "We`re going to negotiate a contract with the team starting in July. He`ll receive 500 million won annually for two years, a total of 1,000 million won." The lowest annual salary for a rookie drafted in 2004-2005 is $385,277 (nearly 460 million won).

The consequences were pretty much frustrating for Ha, who was expected to be picked in the first round as rookies who are selected in the first round receive a three-year contract with a minimum of 800 million won salary. According to that, a few experts forecasted that Ha would return to Korea to try for the next draft once his name wasn`t called in the first round. But through the international call between Ha`s family and Ha’s father, Ha Dong-gi, Ha`s father, commented, "Once he participates in the draft, he can only re-enter after three years. The chance doesn’t come that often so even though he was a second round pick, he`s planning to play."

But there is still a sense of apprehension that Ha won`t get much of an opportunity to play. Portland looked at the draft with long-term insights, which could stretch for three years, so the uncertainty of Ha`s play is still up in the air. Ha`s former Yonsei University coach, Kim Nam-ki, said, "Second round picks could be released during the season, so it is important to secure at least a two-year contract with Portland which could guarantee the player’s career."

Ha Seung-jin is the sixth Asian player to be selected in NBA draft history. The prior selected players include: Japan`s Okayama Yastaka (2m33•1981•Golden State Warriors), China`s Song Tao (1987•Atlanta Hawks), Wang ZhiZhi(1999•Dallas Mavericks), Yao Ming (2m23•2000•Houston Rockets), and Shuan Yang (2003• Dallas Mavericks). The most noteworthy player from the pack is Yao Ming, who was selected with the first pick overall. Mengke Bateer (China•2002•Denver Nuggets) is a special case as he entered the NBA as a free agent.

Meanwhile, high school graduate Dwight Howard (SW Atlanta Christian Academy) was selected first overall by the Orlando Magic. Nigerian immigrant, Emeka Okafor, who led the University of Connecticut to the NCAA national championships last month, was selected as the second overall pick by the Charlotte Bobcats, as he became the first ever rookie in the team’s franchise history.

Won-Hong Lee bluesky@donga.com