That sound you heard Sunday? Yah, it's real. It's not your imagination. That sound is the implosion of a franchise that was once knocking on the door of promotion, but which now sits on the brink of uncertainty.
In spite of sustained success, and multiple young bigs in their prime; including placement on the Singapore National Team for its franchise player, Rip City Utopia pulled the pin Sunday.
"No risk, no reward," stated owner Jimmy Bogroff. "We'd plateaued with our current group, and it's time to hit a reset. We had to be a bit more introspective on who we actually are. And in that reevaluation process, and with all cards on the table, we learned something. Our core is much younger than what we originally thought. We also realized that this core shouldn't include Tung Hui Guang. Not because he's not the most dominant player we've ever had; he's hands-down our best player, but because we know what type of marketplace that he can command, and that this ultimately helps our depth. We also needed to commit to Ren in the starting lineup and stop playing him out of position at SF. "
With the move, the franchise has now moved 6 players, including Guang. The team also confirmed that there's "zero chance," they'll pull back Guang from the transfer.
"No way," said Bogroff "he's a prime player entering the best years, and he's got national team exposure. This is the height of his market. We'll take the market's determination on his value and move forward building a deeper roster around three fantastic young big men."