Sometime last year, the Talk N Text (TNT) franchise acquired Sta Lucia stalwarts Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes. It was a prelude to Sta Lucia eventually leaving the PBA, and was part of what was basically a garage sale. TNT, already a loaded team, ran the risk of actually being overloaded or having too much talent. Reyes had to find his slot in a backcourt rotation that included Jimmy Alapag, heir apparent Jason Castro, and perennial MVP candidate Mac Cardona. Williams faced a similar situation with regard to the TNT frontcourt. And while a team would definitely welcome any opportunity to strengthen its lineup, this also ran the risk of either damaging a player's career or stunting its growth due to the lack of playing minutes.
Fast forward to 2011.
It's the first game of the All Filipino Finals where TNT faces San Miguel for the championship. Cardona is no longer around, having been traded for a draft pick, which was in turn, traded for reserve Larry Fonacier. This is actually a downgrade of sorts, as Cardona is a part time starter while Fonacier has mostly been a reserve. This, however, has resulted in a more stable rotation. Alapag starts at the point and shares time with the team's future starter in Jason Castro. At times they also play together. With Cardona gone, Reyes has assumed the starting shooting guard slot, backed up by Castro and Fonacier, who also swings over to small forward at times playing together with two guards.
In the end, this turned out to be a trade of Cardona for Reyes and Fonacier. My personal view is the trade worked out well for both teams. TNT was already a "loaded" team, and didn't need more stars. As Alapag's backcourt partner, Reyes does not score as much as Cardona but does not have to. In the meantime, he provides better defense and improved the teamwork due to his ability to facilitate plays. He can even function as a point guard if this is what the team needs. Fonacier comes off the bench to provide energy and outside shooting. He is also not the scorer Cardona is but he shoots better from long range which is what TNTs big men need to open the lane. He also will not command as many minutes as Cardona thereby improving the rotation as well.
Cardona on the other hand joins an expansion team with much less talent than his old squad. With Meralco, his new team, he needs to put up big numbers scoring wise, which is exactly what he does the best. With Meralco, Cardona can become the team's star and go to player, which he could not be in a loaded TNT lineup. Similarly, Reyes and Fonacier would not be in their best roles if they were required to be selfish and shoot. I am sure they can approximate the numbers of Cardona but it would not be in either their own or the team's best interests. Reyes, for example, despite being one of the best defensive players, would be "protected" on defense because they need him to score. Meanwhile, Cardona, a prime time scorer, would have to sublimate his offense and focus on defense which is not his main strength.
The value of the trade is best evidenced for TNT by the fact that they are in the finals. They have a more cohesive, better balanced team. For Meralco, a team that is not yet good enough to win now, proof is in Cardona's numbers. He remains one of the league's leading scorers and has actually improved his average. He is providing exactly what the team needs, which is a lot of scoring as they go through the down years in their building up effort.
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