Trade RXN: Standhardinger to SMB

Soon to be unleashed.

Ah, the controversial deal that helped open a can of worms which could possibly a) end the Chito Narvasa reign , b) force PBA teams to bolt and or c) earn us a FIBA suspension.

The cellar-dwelling Kia Picanto opted to send the rights to their 2017 1st round draft pick to powerhouse San Miguel in exchange for Rashawn Mccarthy, JayR Reyes, Ronald Tubid and a 2019 1st round draft pick. The Beermen then wasted little time in making it known and eventually using that pick on 6"8 Filipino-German Christian Standhardinger who held his own and averaged near double-doubles in FIBA play.

Let's break this trade down, shall we?

For San Miguel, they are basically addressing a non-need. Yes, stretch-four Arwind Santos is aging fast, but he is coming off his best scoring season in nearly three or four years. Adding Standhardinger basically makes San Miguel even more dangerous, paired with 4x PBA MVP Junemar Fajardo down low. What's interesting here is that, Standhardinger is 28 while Fajardo is 29-- both guys still nowhere near the traditional "prime" years so to speak which means, they'll undoubtedly be dominating the PBA for the next four-five years-- even longer.

We don't see any problems with the two giants, should they play together (we will have to wait until April for this one since Standhardinger is signed to an ABL team until April 2018), since Fajardo is the kind of big who dominates the post while Standhardinger's game-- based on what we've seen, is more of a weak-side operator which makes him a perfect complement to Fajardo.

Sure, Fajardo's numbers might take a hit but this will help extend his career in the long-run, mileage wise.

You know how they just keep falling short in the 3rd conference for the 2nd straight season? Because of the wear and tear-- specially on Fajardo?

Yeah, that won't be an issue now.

For Kia...

They got three warm bodies: an aging Tubid who will instantly become their best perimeter defender even if he plays less; Reyes who is a decent, mobile big man; and McCarthy, a former ABL star who has yet to really find a niche in the PBA. Oh yeah, wait, Kia also nabbed a 2019 1st round pick from the Beermen.

Is it lopsided? Considering who they could have had, and how he fares with their current line-up, then yes. L.A. Revilla could have played monster pick and roll basketball with Standhardinger. Unfortunately, for whatever reason, Revilla's limits have been limited last season in favor of Nico Elorde (!).

You know that this team's a joke the minute Revilla made the Gilas line-up and yet continues to be sparingly used by his mother team.

Your thoughts?