CHICAGO — With his trade wish left ungranted during the offseason, Sedrick Barefield is staying on with Blackwater.
But the labor peace has a short shelf life that lasts until his automatic contract renewal expires this December.
Which means trade talks will once again intensify.
Meanwhile, I got a peek into why 6-foot-2 point guard was not shipped to a new home.
OVERPRICED.
“There were no takers,” a person with knowledge of the negotiations told me, adding that Barefield allegedly asked for a salary of close to a P1 million a month.
When asked why such a high valuation, his camp told me they believe it’s fair market value considering that Converge was supposedly willing to pay Barefield P900,000 a month.
However, FiberXers coach Delta Pineda denied via text message any attempt by his team to acquire Barefield, let alone pay him such an enormous sum.
READ Barefield on looming free agency: 'I'm focused on finding the best fit'
The Fil-Am and his agent cannot be faulted for asking for a salary they believe is deserved. But demanding close to a million a month is irrational, if not delusional.
However, there's also a chance that the steep asking price is the Barefield camp's way of forcing a trade out of Blackwater.
PROVE YOUR VALUE.
Good as he is, with similarly stout NCAA and NBA G League credentials, Barefield should never be mistaken as Mikey Williams.
Now with Converge, Mikey is a former TNT star, a two-time PBA champion and a two-time Finals MVP.
Sedrick, on the other hand, finished second in the Season 49 PBA Rookie of the Year race but hasn’t won squat in the PBA.
In fact, in the 51 games since drafting Barefield, Blackwater’s won-lost record is 16-35.
Barefield could win a 'chip someday and become one of the PBA's superstars.
Only then can he make egregious salary requests from a team that, by the way, holds his damn PBA signing rights for 17 more conferences.
So instead of trying to break the bank, maybe Barefield is better off pumping the brakes and focus on proving himself first.
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