Thursday, August 04, 2005

Chen Hsin-an leaves Yulon to sign with ETSN for three years

The news shocked everyone. Chen Hsin-an, Taiwan's No. 1 basketball player, left Yulon and signed with ETSN for three years, 15 million NTD (480,000 USD). The contract doesn't look much but already make Chen the highest-paid athlete in Taiwan.

Chen Hsin-an, who joined Yulon in 2000, became the second player to leave Yulon since combo guard Hong Chi-chao joined Videoland one month ago.

ETSN doesn't plan to stop. It's going to pursuit other big name players like Ho Sho-jen of Taiwan Beer and Yang Chin-min of Bank of Taiwan. All this shows ETSN's determination to be a force in Taiwanese basketball by spending big. Whether it's good or bad for Taiwanese basketball scene, no one is sure.

In Taiwan, any team who has some money to throw around will definitely get those players they want, because most teams don't sign professional contracts with players. Sometimes it's only an oral agreement, and sometimes it's only a simple written agreement.