CHICAGO - It's been 61 days since Converge acquired the rights to Mikey Williams from TNT in exchange for Jordan Heading in a headline-grabbing trade last May 28.
By now you'd think both sides have ironed out an agreement.
They have not, and as precious time continues to lapse heading into the projected October 5 start of PBA's Season 50, the odds of striking a deal appears hopelessly dim.
COLUMN: Mikey Williams-Converge contract talks break down: source
You guessed it. The main obstacle is money.
According to a team source, Williams declined a generous one-year offer that would pay P1.2 million a month including perks and bonuses. In today's currency exchange rate, that's a cool $21,428.
Apparently, it didn't sway the former TNT star who allegedly wanted at least the reported $26,000 a month inclusive of perks and bonuses that he was being paid while with the Tropang 5G.
NO DEAL.
Mikey didn't respond to a text message requesting for his comments, if any, for this piece.
But his camp reiterated to me that the No.4 overall pick of the 2020 Rookie Draft has earned his asking price as a two-time PBA champion and a two-time Finals MVP.
Frank Lao, who is spearheading the attempt to reel in Williams, is not mad, just disappointed.
Over the years, the billionaire owner of Zus Coffee and Farm Fresh franchises in the Premier Volleyball League (PVL), had green-lit massive deals to former NBA players and other decorated foreign hoopers who have played for his Strong Group Athletics (SGA).which he also owns.
The inability to sign Mikey bothers him.
Lao is generous, not gullible. He didn't become a business tycoon by egregiously overpaying above market value. He will bend over backwards to consummate a fair price point but he will not allow the FiberXers' budget to break.
Indeed, it's puzzling that Mikey, who hadn't played in the PBA since late April of 2023, turned down a total of P14.4 million, roughly $257,000, for 12 months work.
PROVE YOUR WORTH.
Williams, the shy, quiet type who is often misunderstood, doesn't seem to have the entrepreneurial dexterity to grasp that given his ineligibility to play as an Asian import in Korea and Japan, the PBA is the only league that can provide him the most lucrative compensation.
Sure, there was a time when Williams was the best thing since ice cream, averaging 18.8 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists while shooting 39.3 percent from 3 during TNT's 2023 Governors' Cup title run.
But that was 24 months and four weeks ago. About to turn 34 this October, Converge believes Mikey has gained weight and lost a step.
Still, if he can prove that he is the same three-level scorer who once mesmerized the league, the FiberXers wouldn't hesitate handing over more cash in a longer contract.
The potential fans' backlash of not being able to secure Williams while Heading had played well for TNT in the Philippine Cup Finals, doesn't bother the FiberXers a bit.
"We made a great offer and there's nothing we can do if the other side thinks it's not good enough," Lao told me on Monday morning.
Amen to that.
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