You look at the Sedrick Barefield situation, and you start to see why trade talks involving Blackwater are moving with all the speed of a rusted tractor. Homer Sayson over at Spin.ph recently pulled back the curtain on why Barefield is still in a Bossing uniform, and the word he used was simple: Overpriced.
Here is the situation: Barefield is looking for a salary somewhere in the neighborhood of ₱1 million a month. Now, in the PBA, that’s "Top 10" money. That’s the kind of cash you pay a guy when he’s the reason your franchise is hanging banners from the rafters.
But let’s look at the reality. The Barefield camp supposedly thinks this is fair market value because of rumors that Converge was once willing to pay him ₱900,000. But coach Delta Pineda has already come out and shot that down, calling it fantasy.
So, what are we actually looking at?
There are two ways to look at this. You can say Barefield is being smart, trying to set his market value high to force Blackwater’s hand and get out of a franchise that has gone 16-35 since they drafted him. Or, you can look at the lack of a "take-home" resume and call it delusional.
And that’s the rub. In the PBA, you get paid for one of two things: what you can do, or what you have done. Barefield has the G League credentials and the flashy numbers. He’s a talented guard. But he isn't Mikey Williams. He isn't a guy who has anchored a team to a Finals MVP trophy or a championship ring. He hasn't "won squat" in the league yet.
If you’re a team like Rain or Shine or even Titan, are you really going to mortgage your salary cap and pay a guy Top 10 money when you have zero evidence that he can lead your team deep into a playoff run? It’s a massive gamble.
The other angle here—and it’s one that keeps coming up—is that Blackwater is trying to offload that massive salary requirement as part of any trade package. If you’re a suitor, you aren't just trading away assets for the player; you’re trading for the privilege of paying him an exorbitant salary that he hasn't quite proven to be worth in the win column.
Maybe Barefield is a future superstar. Maybe he wins a title and justifies every single cent of that ₱1 million paycheck. But until he does that, he’s a guy with a lot of potential and a very expensive price tag, playing for a team that has been consistently at the bottom of the standings.
In this league, you don't get paid for what you might do. You get paid for what you have done. Until Barefield proves he can lead a team to the mountaintop, he’s going to keep finding that the trade market is a lot colder than his camp thinks it should be. You want the big money? Go out and win. Everything else is just noise.
Related Article: PBA Free Agency: Rain or Shine rumored contract offered to Pringle and Mamuyac is confusing
Comments
Post a Comment