Dreaming of Returning to the NBA System: Lee Hyun-jung Signs with Trail Blazers, Set to Join Yang Hansen in G League

On September 7, two contract announcements were tied together in the same official release.

Yang Hansen received a four-year, $21.39 million deal after being selected 16th overall in the first round of the 2025 draft, with a 2-1-1 structure, the first two years guaranteed, and a $4.64 million salary for the 2026-27 season. Lee Hyun-jung received an Exhibit 10 contract, one year non-guaranteed, with a base salary of $46,000.

Same team, same G League locker room, but the numbers differ by 46 times.

The more surprising part came later: to get this $46,000 opportunity, Lee Hyun-jung gave up an offer from Japan's B.League worth more than 200 million yen, about $1.3 million. His income dropped by more than 90 percent in exchange for a training camp opportunity.

His agency EPIK Sports' announcement was straightforward: Lee Hyun-jung signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Portland Trail Blazers and will next join the team's G League affiliate, the Rip City Remix, to continue pursuing the NBA. Trail Blazers reporter Sean Highkin confirmed the news, saying he would “most likely” play for the Remix.

Under the NBA collective bargaining agreement, Exhibit 10 is among the lowest-cost contract types. It does not count against the salary cap, and each team can sign up to six per season, providing access to training camp and preseason.

Its two pathways are both narrow. One is being converted to a two-way contract before the regular season begins. The other is joining the team's G League affiliate after being waived and staying 60 days, triggering a bonus ranging from $5,000 to $91,000. Different media reports have listed the upper limit from $77,500 to $91,000, with no unified figure.

The Trail Blazers' three two-way slots are currently full. For Lee Hyun-jung to turn this training camp contract into a two-way deal, he would first need an available roster spot.

He is 25 years old, born in October 2000, standing 2.01 meters tall with a 2.08-meter wingspan, and plays as a wing player.

He has followed this path for four years. Davidson College, Stephen Curry's alma mater, is where he played 84 games, shot 39.7 percent from three-point range, and once made eight three-pointers in a game to tie Curry's school record. He declared early in 2022 but injured his foot before workouts and went undrafted.

After that came the Warriors' G League affiliate and the Australian NBL's Illawarra Hawks. Across two seasons he averaged 7.2 points and 3.4 rebounds with 37.7 percent three-point shooting, helping the team win the 2024-25 NBL championship.

Then came Japan. In the 2025-26 season with Nagasaki Velca, he averaged 17.4 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.7 assists over 57 games, shooting 47.9 percent from three and making 3.3 threes per game. He led the team to its first B.League championship, won Finals MVP, made the All-Season Team, and received an Asian Special Award.

A league Finals MVP became only a training camp invitation when moving into the NBA system.

This summer he represented the Spurs in Summer League. On July 16 against the Jazz, he played 23 minutes off the bench, went 5-for-11 from the field, 4-for-7 from three, and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line, recording 22 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block and a plus-minus of 15, the second-highest on the team. The Spurs won 94-82.

That was also his only breakout performance in Summer League this year. Including the California Classic and Las Vegas events, he finished eight games averaging 8.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists.

The 22-point game and the eight-game average of 8.6 points are two sets of numbers from the same player. NBA teams look at the latter, but they also look at the former.

With the national team, he just finished six World Cup qualifying games, averaging 22.5 points, 9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals, while shooting 46.1 percent overall and 40.7 percent from three.

After signing with Portland, he traveled to Nagoya with South Korea. Men's basketball at the Asian Games begins on September 10, with South Korea in Group A alongside Japan, Saudi Arabia and Indonesia. South Korea's rules allow an Asian Games gold medal to replace military service, leaving only four weeks of basic training. He must enlist before age 28, and Son Heung-min followed this route in 2018.

Lee Hyun-jung has never publicly said “I want to win gold to avoid military service”; he only said he hopes the team achieves good results. South Korean media calculated another figure: normal service would keep him away from basketball for 21 months.

Yang Hansen's situation is a different calculation.

The 2025-26 season was his rookie year. He played 43 NBA regular-season games, started once, averaged 6.9 minutes, 2.2 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists, shooting 31 percent from the field, making 31 of 100 attempts; he went 5-for-42 from three for 11.9 percent and shot 82.4 percent from the free-throw line. In four playoff games, he played only 4 minutes and 33 seconds, with little appearing in the box score.

In the same year, he played 14 G League regular-season games for the Rip City Remix, starting all of them, averaging 30.8 minutes, 17.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.6 blocks, while shooting 62.4 percent. On March 12 against the San Diego Clippers, he went 14-for-16 with 31 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, his G League career high in a single game. He was also selected to the 2026 Rising Stars Challenge.

The difference between 6.9 minutes and 30.8 minutes is not just playing time, but two completely different types of basketball.

The Trail Blazers made several moves in the frontcourt during the offseason. Clingan played 77 games last season, averaging 12.1 points and 11.6 rebounds, with a stable starting role. Robert Williams III signed a three-year, $44 million extension. The team also signed Brandon Carlson and claimed Micah Potter.

Sean Highkin mentioned on a podcast that the team plans to keep Yang Hansen in the G League for significant time next season instead of moving him back and forth as he did last season. In local media Sleeper Blazers' projected ten-man rotation, the center positions belong to Clingan and Robert Williams, with Yang Hansen not included.

The Remix also made a change. In early August, the Trail Blazers appointed Amir Bahur as the Remix head coach, making him the team's fourth head coach in four years.

The technical descriptions of Lee Hyun-jung and Yang Hansen do match. One is a 2.16-meter playmaking center who operates handoffs at the high post and passes after screens, averaging more than three assists per G League game; the other is a 2.01-meter off-ball wing who comes off screens and shoots immediately, with 47.9 percent three-point shooting in the B.League.

Yang Hansen stepping up to set the screen and Lee Hyun-jung curling out for a catch-and-shoot opportunity is a combination that works on the tactical board.

Whether it works in games depends on how the Remix's new coach distributes touches and shot attempts. Both players need to be seen, and there are only so many opportunities over a season.

Portland has a long history in this area. In 2004, Ha Seung-jin was selected by the Trail Blazers with the 46th pick and played 46 games over two seasons, averaging 1.5 points and 1.5 rebounds. In 2024, Choi Junghyun signed an Exhibit 10 contract with Portland and was a Summer League teammate of Lee Hyun-jung. In 2025, Portland selected Yang Hansen with the 16th pick acquired from Memphis. In 2026, Lee Hyun-jung returned here with the same type of contract.

Twenty-two years, four different forms of Asian player movement in and out of the organization.

Lee Hyun-jung's luggage is currently in Nagoya. After the Asian Games, he will return to the United States and report to the Trail Blazers' training camp, beginning with a $46,000 non-guaranteed contract.