(c) PBA Media Bureau
The biggest trade of the year was just approved yesterday. For the past few years, we have been anticipating a Stanley Pringle trade and it finally happens. So, did Northport get a fair value?
Let us see.
BGSM received Stanley Pringle
Northport received Kevin Ferrer, Sol Mercado, Jervy Cruz
Stanley Pringle for a Sol Mercado who is still on his prime is a fair trade. Actually, in terms of skills, Sol Mercado at his prime is as good as Stanley. Do not forget that Sol once led the league in assists and ended up as a top 5 scorer.
The problem is, Sol Mercado is already 35 years old. At most, he is still serviceable until next season. Do not forget that father time always wins. Ferrer did not build any value with Ginebra. His shooting never came and that was his selling point. Cruz lost all his value for riding the bench.
In terms of value, this is not a fair trade. If, and this is a very big if, Northport made Stanley available to the entire league, I am pretty sure they could have received the right value.
Verdict: UNFAIR
TEAM ANALYSIS
BRGY. GINEBRA
I think the guy that Ginebra will miss a lot is Sol Mercado. He is a reliable role player and has developed his defense into an elite level. Nonetheless, they badly need a shooter. And there is no doubt Stanley Pringle is one of the best shooters in the league. Last Philippine Cup, his efficiency from beyond the arc was 39% and he knocked 2.6 per game, fourth best in the league.
Kevin Ferrer is struggling this conference, playing 15.6 minutes per game and shooting 28% in the field! Jervy Cruz only played in two games this conference with five total minutes.
Overall, Ginebra filled their need in exchange for flexibility. With Brownlee there, the defense of Sol will not be needed that much. And Art Dela Cruz looks like capable of being a playoff stopper.
Grade: A
NORTHPORT
With the way the Batang Pier was playing this conference, it was much easier to let go of Stanley Pringle. He played two games and yet Northport won five of their six games. But, getting three bench players for him was still unacceptable.
Sol Mercado is good. With his defense, he will be a good fit beside Robert Bollick. Kevin Ferrer is young but without a three-point shot, it is hard to give him that many minutes. Jervy Cruz is skilled but he is small for a bigman.
This is not a total loss for the Batang Pier if we remember the fact that Stanley is already 32 years old and that Stanley has a lot of injury issues.
Grade: D
Hi Bigmatch, will respectfully disagree on your take. I know on paper, this looks bad but I would have seen this as imba if Northport also gave up their 2019 first round choice.
ReplyDeleteI know Ginebra gained a scoring machine in Pringle but Northport gained a bench by letting him go. I think the trade kicker here is Kevin Ferrer. Ginebra saw him as a role player - as with the other guys in the trade but combining youth and experience, I think Pido Jarencio could do something with his former ward. While yeah, Mercado has since been de-fanged by Tim Cone's system but Sol Train was scoring elite outside the SMC compound.
In 2017, Columbian gave up the rights to select Christian Standhardinger for three benchwarmers and a draft pick. One of the benchwarmers became Rashawn McCarthy. Moreover, their failed season rewarded them with CJ Perez. They also acquired JP Calvo's rights from an earlier trade with SMB. With two first round picks still at their disposal, I guess they are happy with how the pieces turned out.
And I guess that's why I think the Ginebra-Northport trade is fair.