Trade reaction: Nuyles for Cervantes

Fair trade. Yes?
(Photo courtesy of Spin.ph)

We are for parity and fair basketball transactions.

That is why we cannot help but laud Kia Carnival and Blackwater Elite, both PBA newcomers, for the recent trade that basically addresses both teams' needs-- sending Alex Nuyles to the Carnival and Reil Cervantes to the Elite. No under the table shenanigans. No near-retirement veteran for up-and-coming star. No top draft picks and cash.

Just a basketball man's man trade featuring two guys who can help their new teams right away.

On paper at least.


The Elite are getting the services of burly 6"4 forward Reil Cervantes, a rugged beast who could be compared to a poor man's Enrico Villanueva on offense minus the Ateneo pedigree, hype and hoopla. With guys like Jerick Canada, Brian Heruela and Bambam Gamalinda, things look brighter for the Elite now that they have a legitimate inside presence in Cervantes.

Averaging a solid 14 points and 5 rebounds per game prior to his injury this PBA Commissioner's Cup, Cervantes plays with a lot of passion and aggressiveness in the low post. Some areas that need addressing of course are his lack of focus on crashing the boards (which is big considering he plays exclusively inside the shaded lane) and that from time to time, he has this mode in which he starts to wear horse blinkers and tries to do too much on the floor. Being reunited with his former coach Leo Isaac should play to Cervantes' strengths while minimizing his weaknesses.

On the other side, the Carnival just made a trade that could potentially address their lack of a go-to-guy.

Potentially, being the keyword.

This season, the man with the best faux short square beard Nuyles is averaging somewhere around 6 points, 1 rebound and 1 assist a game. Far from the explosive wing creator we saw back in the UAAP when he was, despite the presence of buddy and Rain or Shine rookie Jericho Cruz, THE King Falcon.

Over at the Elite, Nuyles found it hard to unseat Gamalinda as the token starter at the 2-spot.

At the Carnival, his competition includes the likes of Joshua Webb, Karl Dehesa, JR Cawaling and Alvin Padilla.

And we'll simply be damned if he cannot, at the very least, get his 25 minutes a game.

Both teams won, on paper, in our books.

Who do you think will excel with his new team right away? Hit us up @kilikilishot on Twitter.