TNT and GlobalPort's trade Tuesday sent shockwaves through the PBA. It was a deal that the TNT Katropa wanted for a long time and now they've finally added superstar Terrence Romeo.
The first version of the trade -- featuring Romeo and Bradwyn Guinto for GlobalPort and Moala Tautaa and Alfrancis Tamsi for TNT -- was rejected by the PBA Commissioner's Office and deemed to not be in the best interests of the league.
The revised trade was approved by the PBA's five-member panel on Tuesday.
Here is everything you need to know about the deal:
Why TNT traded for Terrence Romeo and Yousef Taha
The rest of the 11 teams in the PBA are currently looking for ways to add more weapons to challenge the powerhouse San Miguel Beermen, who will be adding Christian Standhardinger to their already loaded roster. With very few superstar bigs available, the Katropa instead bolstered their guard rotation as they reunited Gilas Pilipinas teammates Romeo and Jayson Castro. For Romeo, he will also renew his bond with former FEU coach Nash Racela and teammates RR Garcia, RR Pogoy, and Tamsi.
In the Philippine Cup, TNT suffered from long scoring droughts. This forced Racela to play Castro off the bench sometimes. Adding Romeo will eliminate this problem. While matching up with bigger teams such as Ginebra and SMB could still be a problem for TNT, the other teams will now have to worry about two top-class dribble-drive point guards sharing the same floor for the Katropa.
Adding another big in Taha will also help mitigate the departure of Tautuaa for TNT but he might not see a lot of minutes in the upcoming conference as teams are allowed to get big imports.
Why TNT traded away Moala Tautaa and picks
After selecting Tautuaa with their first overall pick in the 2015 PBA Draft, TNT hoped that the big man would be their answer for bigs such as Greg Slaughter and June Mar Fajardo. Although Tautuaa has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his stint with the Katropa, TNT could not afford to wait for the young big man to reach his full potential while it struggles to find its way back to championship form.
Surely, the last game that Tautuaa played with TNT left a bad impression. In the quarterfinals against the Beermen, TNT was in a great position to force a do-or-die match with Tautuaa playing very well defensively in the third quarter. However, he committed a flagrant foul out of frustration after not getting a foul call. As Tautuaa already had a technical foul, he was ejected and that turned out to be all the Beermen needed to take control and eliminate the Katropa.
Trading away a first rounder in 2020 and a second rounder in 2021 is something TNT saw as a calculated risk. If Romeo ends up helping as they expect, the 2020 and 2021 picks will not be top picks.
Why GlobalPort traded for Moala Tautaa and draft picks
Adding another able big body to their roster adds to the identity that GlobalPort is trying to form. In the Philippine Cup, they led the league in rebounds and that was a huge reason why they remained competitive even without Romeo in their active lineup. Tautuaa will now be playing with a chip on his shoulder and this could be what he needed to restart his career.
Tautaa is another big man who can shoot from the outside like what Kelly Nabong has been doing for the Batang Pier. He won't have to adjust too much as he'll fit right in with what coach Pido Jarencio likes.
The picks could be juicy options for the Batang Pier as they've been trying to get younger in the past couple of seasons. Their management has shown their ability to make good picks and also arrange smart deals so the picks could come in handy in the future.
Why GlobalPort traded away Terrence Romeo and Yousef Taha
GlobalPort trusts that Stanley Pringle could carry them to the next level and with the results of the last Philippine Cup, this is definitely not a bad assumption to make. Throughout the conference, there was a black cloud hovering over the Batang Pier. Even if they were playing well, people were still asking when Romeo would play for their squad again. He managed to play late in the conference but the biggest news during his return was his spat with Jarencio.
Getting Tautuaa clogs Batang Pier's big man rotation, especially in the upcoming Commissioner's Cup so they decided to let go of Taha.
However, more than the basketball reasons, it was clear that Romeo's stint with the Batang Pier was already en route to its conclusion in the Philippine Cup with rumors he was asking for a trade, the injury that forced him out of action and the verbal tussle against the head coach. It was clear that Romeo's situation was already bothering the team and moving forward was the best thing to do.