Everytime a team from the San Miguel corporation makes a trade with either Northport or Terrafirma, fans already expect a lopsided trade.
So, it was not surprising to see a lot of fans laugh and feel bad again after they saw Jio Jalalon and Abu Tratter be traded for 24 years old Zavier Lucero.
So, let us dive in and decide if this is really an unfair exchange!
Let us start by assessing Lucero. Lucero is very young and he entered the PBA with an ACL injury. The worst thing about ACL is that it really opens up an athlete to smaller and other big injuries in the future.
Potential wise, Lucero can be seen as the more defensive, less offensive version of Jamie Malonzo. In his rookie season, Zavier averaged 12.1 points, 47% FG, 5.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.0 block per game. He clearly have a path to become a top 10 player in the league.
Now, Jio in my eyes already have a good argument of being a top 20 player in the league. Last season, he averaged 9.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. He is still at his prime at 31 years old.
Zavier have the higher trade value but I think Jio covers 80% of that at this point. Jio is a proven playoff performer and he is very good on both ends. He is one of the few PGs out there that can really magnify a defense.
So, it boils down to Abu Tratter. Magnolia actually was hopeful Abu will be of big help. But they ended up not trusting him enough. Abu is a turnover-prone and inefficient bigman. But, he can defend really well and his offense has some glimpses of goodness.
How many Abu will you accept to cover for Lucero?
For me, 5 should be fine. Abu can still bring one of the most important skill in the playoffs, defending the giants.
So overall, this is a fair exchange for us.
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