ESPN Reports: Portland Trail Blazers have just secured a $176.2million experienced player from rivals in a blockbuster deal……Read more

This year, the Portland Trail Blazers of 2024–25 are already adopting the tank. Under head coach Chauncey Billups, the team is hoping to choose a lottery choice in the draft for the fourth straight season after getting off to a 1-3 start. Cooper Flagg, a big forward for the Duke Blue Devils, is the league’s top prize this season. Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, two wings from Rutgers, are thought to be the next two best players to declare.

However, the Trail Blazers’ G League team, the Rip City Remix, continues to play in the interim despite having significantly fewer well-known players.

The Golden State Warriors’ G League franchise, the Santa Cruz Warriors, and the New York Knicks’ NBAGL affiliate, the Westchester Knicks, have joined the team in a three-team deal, the team announced on its official X account. Rip City will receive a 2025 G League Draft first-round choice and a 2025 G League Draft second-round selection in addition to former Davidson College standout guard Lee Hyun-jung.

The 24-year-old Hyun-jung was a member of the Wildcats from 2019 to 22. In his last NCAA season, he was selected to the All-Atlantic 10 First Team after averaging 15.8 points on.474/.381/.777 shooting splits, 6.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 0.7 steals per game in his 34 games for the team (33 starts).

The 6-foot-7 swingman has played for the Santa Cruz Warriors in the 2022–2023 season after being undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft. Hyun-jung averaged 5.5 points on a.319/.292/.600 slash line, 4.2 rebounds, 1.7 dimes, and 0.8 steals per fight over the course of 12 Santa Cruz fights.

He has since played for the Australian National Basketball League’s Illawarra Hawks, and he also had a brief stint with the Japanese team Osaka Evessa.

The biggest star on the lineup for this year’s Rip City training camp is James Bouknight, a former 2021 NBA Draft lottery pick. The Remix selected former G League Ignite guard Thierry Darlan with the fourth overall pick in the 2024 NBA G League draft. In the second round, they selected former Alabama A&M big man Olisa Blaise Akonobi, former North Carolina center Sterling Manley, and former North Carolina center Sterling Manley. Undrafted rookies Tommy Bruner, David Muoka, Ish Massoud, and Cam Tyson are also being tried out by the Remix.

However, a player may not really play for that G League team anytime soon, if at all, just because an NBAGL club trades for their draft rights. Being so near to an NBA team and its front office may help Hyun-jung get a chance to play in the most competitive league in the world, even though he will likely make more money with the Illawarra Hawks than he would in the G League.