Barangay Ginebra and NorthPort on Friday agreed to a blockbuster one-on-one swap that would see Christian Standhardinger and Greg Slaughter exchange teams.
The deal has already been approved by the league's trade committee, according to the PBA website.
The 31-year-old Standhardinger, a two-time champion and one-time Best Player of the Conference awardee, will form a formidable frontline with Japeth Aguilar in the Ginebra frontcourt.
In the 2020 PBA season, Standhardinger averaged 19.9 points on 49.4 percent shooting, a league-best 12.0 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 1.3 steals. NorthPort, however, only managed to win one of 11 games.
The Fil-German center spent just two conferences with NorthPort. He was traded in October 2019 for Mo Tautuaa by San Miguel, where Standhardinger played just a little over 12 minutes a contest in that season's Governors' Cup.
Standhardinger posted on Instagram thanking NorthPort management for his time with the team.
"I want to thank NorthPort Batang Pier for everything -- for taking a chance on me and for the great memories that we had together," he wrote. "It was an honor to fight alongside my teammates/friends who are not only amazing players but also great people."
Slaughter, meanwhile, will be making his PBA return with the Batang Pier after a year away from pro basketball.
Ginebra signed Slaughter to a fresh contract early February after the 31-year-old center took a sabbatical that made him miss the Gin Kings' bubble campaign in Clark, Pampanga. Slaughter also signed with top European agency BeoBasket and had been training in the United States during his PBA absence.
In his last season with Ginebra, Slaughter averaged 9.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 0.9 blocks in 49 games and 26 starts.
The five-time All-Star played for a total of six seasons with the Ginebra franchise. With the Gin Kings, he collected four titles and one BPC award during the 2017 Governors' Cup.
Ginebra drafted Slaughter out of Ateneo with the first overall pick in the 2013 PBA Draft.
Slaughter also posted on Instagram a photo of him wearing an old design of the Ginebra jersey and wrote a lengthy message to the Gin Kings.
"It has been a tremendous six years with Barangay Ginebra," he wrote. "Although I am saddened to know that my journey with them has officially come to an end, from the first pick in the draft to All-Star and multiple championships, I will always look back fondly at the time I spent here."
"That being said, I am truly excited for this new adventure and for the next chapter in my story to begin," he continued. "I still have my best basketball ahead of me. I have so much left to give the game and just as blessed as ever to play the game I love in front of all the fans who have been with me through it all, no matter what jersey I wear."