The P.League+’s Hsinchu JKO Lioneers said that the T1 League’s Taipei Taishin poached Lin Ping-sheng from the team, days after announcing they had signed a contract with the shooting guard.
The Lioneers said in a statement on Monday that Taishin Sports Entertainment, which runs the new franchise owned by the parent group of Taishin Bank, had encouraged the former New Taipei CTBC DEA player to breach his contract.
Lin, 26, was named the T1 League’s Defensive Player of the Year in the 2021-2022 season, averaging a league-high three steals per game. In the 2022-2023 season, he played all 30 regular-season games, recording nearly 26 minutes per game on the floor to average 7.8 points, 3.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game.
Photo courtesy of T1 League via CNA
The Lioneers said they had helped Lin address several issues after the player reached out to them in late May, including a potential breach of his contract with a team in China’s National Basketball League and his desire to wear the No. 3 jersey, which was already being worn by a senior Lioneers player.
The franchise said that Lin had signed with them in early June, prior to the July 6 establishment of Taishin Sports Entertainment, and the Hsinchu team announced the deal on Tuesday last week, the same day DEA announced that Lin was leaving their club.
“If this is not poaching, then what is?” the Lioneers said, adding that it would pursue legal action if necessary.
On Wednesday last week, Lin wrote on Instagram that he had turned down the Lioneers several times prior to their announcement.
That post prompted the Lioneers to hold a news conference in Taipei on Friday last week to show the contract with Lin’s signature and call on teams to respect player contracts.
Lioneers chairman Hu Lung-chih said that the Lioneers had asked the national basketball association to intervene.
Taishin Sports Entertainment rejected the Lioneers’ accusations, saying in a statement that it signed Lin to a contract on Wednesday last week after no other team provided an equal offer.
Lin backed Taishin’s statement in a post on Saturday.
The Lioneers could suffer a huge blow if Lin does not join the team, as the franchise failed to sign the P.League+ first overall pick Joof Alasan, who joined the T1 League’s Taiwan Beer Leopards.
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