NOT a few fans were caught by surprise on Wednesday when TNT welcomed former Converge forward Mike Nieto to its lineup as the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup enters its most crucial stage.
Just days after pulling off a trade to get Jordan Heading from Converge in exchange for the signing rights of Mikey Williams, TNT added another key piece to its grand slam-seeking team by signing the former Ateneo standout.
READ TNT activates Heading, Nieto ahead of game vs Blackwater
The suddenness of the news got some fans asking how it happened - and some suspecting if there was something irregular about the transfer of the 6-foot-2 forward acquired by Converge from Rain or Shine in a May 2023 trade.
Well, there is none.
Allow us to explain
Under league rules, each PBA team has the option to relegate under-contract players that it can no longer accommodate in its active and reserve rosters to the unrestricted free agent with rights to salary (UFAWR2S) list.
Players in the UFAWR2S have two options: they can choose to stay with their mother ballclubs and continue to receive salary until the end of their contracts; or they can opt to sign with another PBA ballclub - something they can freely do.
PBA rules are different for unrestricted free agents wishing to transfer to his mother ballclub's sister team. In such cases, all the league's other teams must waive their rights before the player can complete his transfer to the sister club.
In all the cases, the PBA notifies all its teams via memo - and the public and the media through its official website - each time a player is relegated to the UFAWR2S list, in case there is interest in signing him.
Was the procedure followed in Nieto's case?
Yes.
Although Nieto's relegation to Converge's UFA list curiously didn't appear on the PBA website, a little digging showed that all the 11 other league ballclubs were notified via memo circulated as early as April 3.
"Yes, he was already in the UFA [list] since the start of the (Philippine Cup) conference," confirmed a league official.
So it's either the other PBA teams didn't make a move on Nieto, or TNT simply beat him to the draw.
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