Ex-All-Star guard Kim traded to begin career anew

Former All-Star basketball guard Kim Seung-hyun is joining a new team on his comeback trail from basketball exile.

The Goyang Orions of the Korean Basketball League (KBL) announced Friday they have traded the 33-year-old guard to the Samsung Thunders in exchange for forward Kim Dong-wook, who is averaging 11.5 points and 2.3 rebounds per game this season.

Kim Seung-hyun was allowed to return to court late last month after the league lifted its 20-month ban on him. He had been suspended for refusing to accept the league's salary arbitration, following bitter disputes with the Orions that had degenerated into legal battles.

Kim had played his entire career with the Orions, formerly based in Daegu, southeast of Seoul, and now in Goyang, a little west of Seoul. In the 2001-2002 season, Kim became the first KBL player to win the Rookie of the Year and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) honors in the same season. He also helped the Orions win their first-ever championship that season.

The dynamic guard led the KBL in assists per game in four different seasons and starred on Korea's gold medal-winning team at the 2002 Asian Games.

Kim's return comes after more than two years of disputes over his salary ended in November. In 2009, Kim, denied a salary raise after an injury-riddled season and forced to accept the league arbitration figure, claimed the Orions had agreed to pay him thousands of dollars in an illicit deal in 2006.

While rumors of KBL clubs' signing star players to dual contracts had been rampant since the league started in 1997, Kim was the first player to publicly accuse his team of making such illegal deals.

Kim won a lawsuit against the Orions in July of this year and a Seoul court ordered the Orions to pay him 1.2 billion won in outstanding salary plus interest. He lost a second court battle, however, and his injunction against the KBL's 2010 ban was rejected last month.

Kim and the Orions reached a compromise last month. Kim said he would not take the 1.2 billion won in exchange for a chance to play again, and the Orions said it would ask the KBL to lift its ban and seek to trade him to a different club.

The Thunders had made the past nine playoffs in a row but have struggled mightily this season. They're ranked ninth among 10 KBL teams with four wins and 16 losses, and have dropped their last eight.

They lost their starting point guard Lee Jung-seok for the season to a knee injury, and Kim is expected to take his place.

Meanwhile, the LG Sakers, another team interested in Kim, accused the Orions of reneging on a prior agreement. According to LG officials, the two sides had verbally agreed to send Kim to LG in exchange for a player and cash, but the Orions called off the trade before signing the deal. (Yonhap)