CHICAGO - Prior to being signed to a three-year max deal by the Magnolia Hotshots last March 2024, James Laput was told that he was going to be "part of the core," a source familiar with the situation told me.
Imagine his excitement.
Unfortunately, just like the Hotshots' several failed attempts to win a title the past six years, the promise made to Laput was left undelivered.
SCENARIOS: Ginebra, SMB still in the running for Top Two spots
In this ongoing Commissioner's Cup, the former 3x3 campaigner has played in only six games where he logged a total of 18 minutes and 39 seconds a contest while averaging just a meager 1.0 point and 1.33 rebounds.
Imagine his frustration, his grief, his desperation.
Why pay him P420,000 a month until 2026 when you are only playing him for 3 minutes and 6 seconds a game?
LAME EXCUSE.
When Laput supposedly asked the coaching staff about his scant playing time, sources said he was given a very vague, generic answer.
"Match-ups."
Imagine our collective confusion right now.
At 6-foot-9 and 244 pounds, Laput isn't just a dude who can change light bulbs and scrub the accumulating dust on the ceiling; he can actually hoop, which was why he was picked eighth overall by Terrafirma in the 2021 PBA Rookie Draft before being shipped to Magnolia in November of the same year.
"The guy is an ultimate competitor. He just wants to help his team," his camp insists.
But no thanks, the Hotshots don't need any more help losing. They're just fine at 4-6.
READ Victolero says no issue on Calvin Abueva's diminished minutes
Look, nobody is saying Laput is going to unseat June Mar Fajardo as league MVP anytime soon. But if Magnolia can't find a way to appropriately utilize an asset of Laput's length and heft, then the coaching staff must be either stale or broken.
Calvin Abueva has also seen a dip in his usage, an anomaly that was explained through the same perplexing alibi: "match-ups."
Then there's Zavier Lucero, who's hooping at a different plane, only to be held back and mostly relegated to springing off the bench.
And now there's James Laput.
All of the above explains why Magnolia's playoffs life is currently on a ventilator.
James Laput is the luckiest and saddest man on the planet at the same time.
He has the dream job that pays so much money and yet he is denied the satisfaction of earning it.
Sounds like a very messy Magnolia story, isn't it?
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
