TO this day, the online chatter over two major PBA trades involving Barangay Ginebra guard Maverick Ahanmisi and the rights to Dave Ildefonso hasn't died down.
Most of the discussion, of course, revolved around the debate on why Ginebra's deal to send its wantaway guard along with reserve Aljon Mariano to Terrafirma for its first-round pick next season was approved while Converge's bid to acquire the rights to Ildefonso from Titan Ultra in exchange for its own first-round pick wasn't.
READ Titan trading Dave Ildefonso rights to Converge for Monje, first-round pick
The grumblings sounded valid, considering there isn't much difference between the two deals in terms of weight. Majority of netizens therefore were left wondering while two almost similar trades got different verdicts from the PBA trade committee.
While Mariano was added to the Ginebra package, some netizens argued that Terrafirma's first-round draft selection actually carried more value since the league minnow has landed the No. 1 overall pick five times over the last seven years.
In short, pundits believed Ginebra got a shot at landing a prized player next season by giving up a longtime reserve and a player who asked to be traded.
In contrast, Converge was willing to give up a future first-round pick for a player who it may not even be able to sign since Ildefonso - the No. 5 pick overall in the Season 49 draft - is still under contract with MPBL side Abra Weavers. Yet the deal failed to pass the PBA trade committee's scrutiny.
Intrigued, we asked PBA insiders what the thought process was that led to the two decisions. But there were few available explanations on why the Converge-Titan trade proposal was binned by the trade committee.
Sources bared both Converge and Titan officials were left in the dark on the fate of the trade for close to two weeks and only learned about the rejection from the PBA trade committee from the SPIN.ph report itself.
As for the Ginebra-Terrafirma trade that was approved, insiders insisted that there are no guarantees that, one, the Dyip will once again end up with the No. 1 pick next season and, two, there is no certainty that next year's draft pool will be talent-laden.
The trade, therefore, is deemed even and so was cleared by the trade committee, the insider revealed.
Will apology pave road for Slaughter's PBA comeback?
Greg Slaughter surprised a lot of people when he issued a statement offering 'profound apologies for the miscommunications in the past that caused offense to an ssociation that has been so good to me,' rferring to the PBA.
The apology, it was hoped, would help smoothen relations between Slaughter and the PBA following acrimonious contract talks that preceded his trade out of Ginebra and his bitter departure from NorthPort to the Japan B.League.
READ Greg Slaughter on PBA return: 'It's my dream to come back'
PBA insiders bared Slaughter issued the apology on his own without any contact from league officials. The former Ateneo slotman in fact wanted to hold a press conference at the Smart Araneta Coliseum during the PBA double-header on Friday but wasn't allowed to do so by the league.
As for any negotiations between Slaughter and Titan or another PBA team, insiders bared there is none that they know of at the moment.
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