EPT
Where is Jaedong going to go?
![[image loading]](http://sc.gosugamers.net/images/people/jaedong_jacket.jpg)
It's no secret, there isn't a team out there that doesn't want Jaedong on their team. Jaedong has the best practice mentality out of any gamer and apparently is a pleasure to coach. He is bound for greatness in many ways. Indeed, the team who snaps him up will have a huge shot at winning the proleague - as shown by Hwaseung. KeSPA's bullshit rules mean that Jaedong ultimately isn't going to get to make a decision on where he ends up, just that he will go to the highest bidder - so where exactly will he end up? Well here's my take on the matter.
SKT T1
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SKT would be foolish if they did not put a bid in on Jaedong - after all SKT has searched for a long time trying to get a competent Zerg for their lineup. Their player "snatching" started a long time ago, and many Zergs have been snapped up in hopes of making SKT truly invincible. Zergs such as GoRush and July have passed through the SKT halls only to wind up slumping like crazy (and so the SKT Zerg curse continues).
Jaedong, however, has a legitimate chance of breaking this curse and simply dominating everything. SKT already has the best Protoss and best Terran in their lineup - adding Jaedong would make them truly invincible (at least for the time being). They would be almost like the KTF Superstar team consisting of Reach, Yellow, Nada, Nal_ra etcetc. BUT, even though KTF was a super team - they never won a Proleague title, so maybe (just maybe) it wouldn't translate into a title for SKT either... unlikely, but hey
SKT has a shitload of cash compared to other teams especially since they just won the Proleague. But really, they are already shelling out the big money for Bisu, Fantasy, Boxer and Oov to stay in the team. I'm sure their other players are on fairly good contracts as well. The question is does SKT have enough cash left over to purchase Jaedong? Or rather, will they have enough money to out bid the other teams. I can see SKT posting around 140 000 000 won for Jaedong, what Hwaeseung is currently offering - anymore and I think they will be paying more money to their players than they would make by winning the Proleague.
So while it is in SKT's best interest to purchase him, somehow I don't see it happening...
KTFail
Will KT put in a bid for Jaedong? Interesting question. It's no secret that KT have an enormous checkbook while they have not hesitated to flaunt round in the past. Of the "major" teams I think KT is most likely to snap up Jaedong. And here's why. They know that Flash is a kid wonder and will do great things. However, the rest of their team is so bad that they just missed out on the playoffs this season. With another awesome player on the lineup they can pretty much do what Oz did when they had Anytime and Jaedong - simply play Jaedong/Flash and then either Jaedong/Flash for ace. Scary combination really
So KT have the money, have the need, and they have a good environment. fOrGG already moved from Oz, so Jaedong wouldn't be completely isolated once he moved. While KT has a number of budding zergs like 815, Firefist and Hoejja, ultimately if they want results now (like they've always done) they will want to purchase a DEPENDABLE good zerg (not luxury lolol) and they can find that in Jaedong.
So imo, Jaedong will be headed to KT since they have the most spare cash and a great need for him.
CJ Entus
There's been a lot of talk about Jaedong moving to CJ, and why not. CJ is a great team. But I don't think they are very interested in purchasing Jaedong - well, let me rephrase, of all teams I don't think they the most interested in Jaedong and hence will only put in a mediocre bid.
Here is why. EffOrt is proving to be an amazing Zerg and is juts oozing potential. Kwanro is performing well in leagues, and could potentially come away with a title soon. Savior is still the Zerg god (and has a hefty contract to boot) and the vast majority of their lineup consists of Zergs. There is no need for another Zerg - since if they bought Jaedong it would make half their goddam roster redundant. CJ need a solid Protoss to make up for Much's departure or another Terran to give them some more depth. Jaedong doesn't play Protoss or Terran, thus, CJ probably isn't going to acquire him.
Samsung Khan
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Rule of thumb; Khan never trades players away. Khan is like a family, and they stick together through thick and thin. Honestly, Khan has a very depressing Zerg lineup. Yes, great performed well last season, but really, do you trust him enough for him to carry the team? I thought not. Stork/Jangbi/Firebathero are a good trio and I really don't see January going out to purchase Jaedong for the team. I don't think Jaedong's ridiculous practice routine meshes well with Khan's relatively relaxed approach to practice.
Will Khan offer up a bid? Probably. Jaedong is too big of an asset to let slip by. But in reality - when they already have a couple stars on their team - they aren't going to be offering up much to purchase him and will lose the bidding war.
eSTRO
eSTRO is the best team Jaedong could possibly go to. A little known fact is that Jaedong and UpMagic are really close friends couple this with eSTRO's continual fail despite lots of budding potential and you have a team perfect for Jaedong. Jaedong would be an excellent choice for eSTRO since their best players are Terrans and Protoss - while Hyvaa is the only decent zerg. Jaedong/Hyvaa as a combo would be amazing since Hyvaa could learn so much from him and develop into an amazing player himself.
Jaedong's friendship with UpMagic, and the generally friendly atmosphere at eSTRO, seems like the perfect environment for him to be in. Sure he'd still be carrying the team, but it's not like Oz where he was literally a one man army.
The sad thing is eSTRO isn't the richest team of the lot - despite their sponsor owning the rights to Proleague (1 000 000 000+ won deal with KeSPA) so it's not like the money doesn't exist. It's just that they're not willing to spend it on their players. Maybe it's because they suck too much, or maybe its simply because they are stingy. I hope its the former, since shelling out for Jaedong would be so beneficial for their team.
If eSTRO are prepared to bid 200M+ for Jaedong I think they will be able to take him - and with that acquisition they will rise to the top.
I think KT has the best chance of getting Jaedong, but I really hope this is where he ends up.
MBC Game Hero
MBC are semi-renown for paying the bare minimum for their players. In fact, I'm reasonable sure that if you're on the B team you don't get paid at all. All of their FAs took pay cuts when they resigned; Pusan took a cut of over 30M won. They also let Bisu go to SKT since SKT offered them some nice cash in return. While MBC desperately needs a Zerg to pull them out of this shitheap that they've dug themselves - they aren't going to be putting out any figure which is going to win the auction.
WeMade FoX
WeMade is another team which could benefit from having Jaedong - indeed it would be the perfect complement to Mind/Nada. But hey, with WeMade not doing so well lately and Nada/Mind boasting amazing salaries for doing almost nothing and them signing Moon recently - how much money is left for them to spend on Jaedong? I doubt they will be able to do any better than 140M won (Hwaseung's offer) hence, WeMade doesn't have a chance at acquiring him. (Unless they pull out lots of $$ from nowhere)
Woongjin Stars
Woongjin have just lost GGPlay, one of their senior Zergs. Their current lineup consists of Free, Zero and "insert Terran here". While I think Woongjin will be interested in buying Jaedong, I think they will be more interested in buying Midas. Midas was once the best Terran in the world and has a huge amount of experience - an invaluable addition to the team (and for a good price).
Jaedong, ultimately, is too pricy for Woongjin. Indeed, I think that acquiring Midas would be better for the team, even though Jaedong would bring immediate results. Jaedong juts doesn't seem like a Woongjin player to me - Woongjin have always been that team that was once great, and ever since have been continually struggling to reach the top again. Jaedong isn't the answer to their struggle - he's the easy solution. Midas helps the team grow and become more dangerous further down the line; Jaedong simply glosses over the problem and leaves the rest of the team looking like shit (hi rest of Oz).
Hite Sparkyz
I don't really know much about Hite. They used to be a really cool team, but then they treated Casy like shit and Zeus retired. I think that Sparkyz will be posting a reasonable bid for Jaedong - but nothing game breaking. Perhaps 150M won at the most. Nevertheless, I think one of the richer teams will be more eager to purchase him than Sparkyz.
STX Soul
Realistically, STX's roster is packed. They just signed Calm for 130M won and Hwasin and Kal for something like 100M won. They're protecting their players and I don't think they're looking to expand it anytime soon. For STX their goal is to build on what they already accomplished this past season and I dont think they need Jaedong to do that. He's just not worth that much money - especially since STX is already shelling out a lot to retain it's stars.
So there you have it, my analysis on where Jaedong is going to go. I'm eager to here your thoughts on the matter!!
