FOLLOWING a trade that went down last Friday, Converge will now have multiple picks in the coming PBA Rookie Draft including two in the first round.
The FiberXers last week traded Abu Tratter and David Murrell to Magnolia in exchange for Adrian Wong and the Hotshots’ first round draft pick for the coming Season 48, giving the FiberXers two first-rounders like Rain or Shine, Terrafirma, and NorthPort.
COLUMN: Tratter trade marks start of leadership shift at Converge
Actually, Converge’s original pick is now owned with NLEX after the FiberXers traded the draft right in exchange for Tyrus Hill, two days before he was selected by the Road Warriors in the first round of the Season 47 draft in May 2022.
Ironically, that same deal allowed Murrell to join the FiberXers.
The FiberXers, though, were able to grab a first rounder in January 2023 when they acquired Barkley Ebona from Blackwater in exchange for RK Ilagan, Mike DiGregorio, and, ironically again, Hill.
Both picks, however, are expected to be low first-round picks, with the first-rounder it got from Blackwater expected to fall at No. 9, based on an unofficial computation by SPIN.ph. That Bossing pick is actually from TNT, which Blackwater got as part of the deal that sent Poy Erram to the Tropang GIGA in February 2020.
The second first-round pick that Converge acquired from Magnolia could be at No. 10 since the Hotshots made the playoffs in all of the three conferences in the current season.
But Converge can continue to shore up its roster come the second round where it has two picks.
READ: Alaska trades Ebona, Casio to Blackwater
Aside from its original pick, the FiberXers have another second rounder which is a remnant of an Alaska deal with Blackwater that sent JVee Casio to the Bossing in October 2021.
With their multiple picks in the first two rounds, a youth movement could be in the offing for Converge in this coming draft.
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