“I’ll take a year off and come back to the team according to my will.”
WKBL announced the results of the third round of FA (free agent) negotiations for 2024 through a press release on Tuesday. One of them stood out was Kim Han-byul (BNK), who was announced as retired. A naturalized mixed-blooded player representing the WKBL, he played in the WKBL arena from 2009-2010 season.
He was nicknamed “Starbron” and played a big role in leading Yongin Samsum Life Insurance’s surprise victory during the 2020-2021 season. He was also named the MVP of the playoffs. However, as time passed, what held him back was his injury.
He left early this season due to knee injury, and his aging process overlapped. This season’s record is 8.0 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists in 22 games. Along with Kim Han-byul’s sluggish performance, Busan’s BNK Thumb, which advanced to its first championship game in the 2022-2023 season, also fell to the bottom of the league (6 wins and 24 losses).
Kim Han-byul, who was released as a free agent again, was in the dark. It was also natural for him to choose to retire at the age of 38. Park Jeong-eun, who leads BNK, once said, “It’s up to you. This is not the part I can say first. I think (Kim) Han-byul will talk about it when he has his thoughts sorted out. Please wait a little longer. For now, I think we should move to Busan and have a conversation.”
As time passed, the third round of FA results came out, and the official announcement was retirement. However, only the official announcement was retirement. This is the situation. BNK, which recruited both Sonia and Park Hye-jin as FA this season, cannot afford to be treated immediately due to the full salary cap, which makes it difficult to sign a contract with Kim Han-byul.
“Of course, I wanted to catch Kim Han-byul,” a BNK official said in a telephone interview with this newspaper on Tuesday. As everyone knows, however, we have recruited two big FA players at the same time. As a result, it was difficult to treat Kim Han-byul accordingly. It is difficult to adjust the salary cap.”
“First of all, I decided to rest for a year and build my body, and come back to the team next year in accordance with my will. I have the will to play more. We couldn’t match it. It wasn’t a situation in which we could benefit from sending it to other clubs,” he added.
In other words, he decided not to retire completely, but to look a little further into the future. Not immediately, but depending on his will, he will be able to see Kim Han-byul on the court next season. 안전놀이터