THEY have to cool their heels first.
The PBA greenlighted the trade that saw TNT ship prolific Fil-Am guard Mikey Williams to Converge for rookie Fil-Australian playmaker Jordan Heading yesterday, but lots of burning questions still need to be answered.
For one, the 6-foot-2 Williams, a former two-time finals MVP and Rookie of the Year while playing for the Tropang 5G, is still in the United States and has not seen action in the pro league for the past 26 months after helping TNT win the Governors’ Cup crown in April 2023.
Williams, 33, has also won two titles for the flagship squad of the MVP Group and Mythical First and Second team selections after he was picked No. 4 overall in the 2020 Draft.
But a contract impasse that resulted in a long and dramatic saga surfaced after Williams and the Tropang 5G failed to agree on certain terms of a new pact, for months and now, years.
Williams saw action for Strong Group Athletics in the 34th Dubai International Basketball Championship early this year but struggled to regain his old, explosive self.
Heading, 29, has yet to play in the Philippine Cup due to nagging back spasms that also slowed him down in the FiberXers’ quarterfinals battle against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the last Commissioner’s Cup.
If and when healthy, the lefty Heading, a former Gilas Pilipinas mainstay, should prop up TNT’s bid for a rare grand slam in the season-ending tilt.
“If he’s 100 percent healthy, Jordan will be a good addition to our team,” Tropang 5G coach Chot Reyes told Malaya-Business Insight yesterday. “That (joining will depend on the condition of his back.”
The 6-foot-2 Heading was chosen first overall by Terrafirma in the special Gilas Draft in the same year Williams made the jump to the PBA, but opted to bring his act to pro leagues in Taiwan, Japan, and Australia.
When Heading decided to return to the country, the Dyip dealt him to Converge this season for guard Aljun Melecio, big man Keith Zaldivar, and a 2025 first-round pick.
In his only conference so far Heading normed 17.7 points and 5.9 assists that earned him a shot at the Best Player of the Conference award.
With TNT without veteran Jayson Castro (out for the season due to a knee injury) and Rey Nambatac, who is recovering from a groin injury, Heading will certainly be a big boost.
Ditto with Williams, who is expected to give the win-now FiberXers a different dimension as a go-to guy.
The trade has been sealed. It’s now time to see whether the teams made the right move.
