It's been 61 days since the Converge FiberXers made a splash, acquiring the rights to Mikey Williams from TNT in exchange for Jordan Heading in a headline-grabbing trade back on May 28. Two months and change. In the fast-paced world of professional basketball, that's an eternity for a deal to be finalized. And as precious time continues to lapse, heading into the projected October 5 start of PBA's Season 50, the odds of Converge actually striking a deal with Williams appear hopelessly dim.
The main obstacle, as you might have guessed, is money.
According to boss Homer Sayson of Spin.ph, Williams declined a "generous" one-year offer from Converge that would pay him P1.2 million a month, including perks and bonuses – a cool $21,428 in today's exchange rate. Apparently, that 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 Giga. Williams did not respond to requests for comment.
This situation, frankly, is a disaster for Converge. They traded away Jordan Heading, a legitimate talent who, despite his own brief and complicated PBA stint, is a proven scorer and shooter. In return, they've received... nothing tangible on the court. Williams, a four-time PBA champion and former scoring champion, remains unsigned, potentially leaving Converge holding an empty bag.
Given the recent trade rumors involving Converge and the league's dominant teams (like the alleged Mikey Williams for Jeremiah Gray swap with Ginebra, though that was unproven chatter), Converge should absolutely expect fans to throw accusations that they are a farm team. The optics are terrible: a team acquires a high-profile player, seemingly can't sign him, and then potentially looks to trade him, perhaps to one of the traditional powerhouses. It fuels the cynical narrative that certain franchises exist merely to develop or acquire talent only to eventually funnel is to the league's Goliaths.
But in reality, they are not a farm team. This isn't a calculated move to benefit a sister company or a larger conglomerate. This is, by all accounts, a massive trade blunder by Converge – one of the biggest in recent memory, in fact.
A farm team, in its essence, deliberately cultivates talent to supply a parent club. Converge, under its current management, appears to be genuinely trying to build a competitive team. Their aggressive moves in recent years, including signing imports and making various trades, point to an ambition to contend, not merely to develop players for others. Their problem isn't a lack of intent; it's a monumental miscalculation.
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They miscalculated Williams's demands, or perhaps his willingness to compromise. They miscalculated the risk involved in trading for a player's rights without a guaranteed contract. They essentially bet a valuable asset (Jordan Heading) on a handshake agreement (or at least, the assumption of one) that never materialized into a signed contract.
This isn't a strategic chess move in a grand, league-wide power play. This is a failure in due diligence, a breakdown in negotiations, and a public relations nightmare. Converge has, inadvertently, become a cautionary tale in player acquisition. They've not only lost a valuable player in Jordan Heading, but they've tied up a significant potential salary slot and roster spot, all while failing to secure the very player they targeted.
As the offseason progresses and the clock ticks towards Season 50, Converge faces a daunting task. They need to either miraculously salvage the Williams deal (highly unlikely now) or figure out how to recoup something for his rights. If not, they will have engineered one of the most self-inflicted wounds in recent PBA history, ensuring that the "farm team" accusations, however inaccurate in their intent, will continue to sting.
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