The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
Amid his contract dispute with Northport Batang Pier, there are talks swirling around the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) that the league’s newest team Converge is interested in getting the services of seven-foot slotman Greg Slaughter when the 47th season opens in June.
A source who requested anonymity revealed to The Market Monitor recently that the FiberExers are keeping tab on the development of the on-going negotiations between the 33-year-old big man and his mother team, which, most likely, would end up with both parties parting ways and Slaughter suiting up for his third team in his eight-year professional career.
Before suiting up for NorthPort, Slaughter previously played for Barangay Ginebra.
“Converge is really interested with Greg and is just awaiting the development of his negotiations with Northport. If it doesn’t end well and the team decides to let go of him, Converge is sure to enter the picture and present him an offer,” said the source.
Slaughter has not inked a new deal with the Batang Pier since his contract expired on January 31. The player claimed that he reached out to NorthPort team manager Bonnie Tan when his deal was about to expire, but the squad official did not address his concern until his contract with them ended.
The one-time Best Player of the Conference found himself in a situation, which he said was similar to the contract dispute he had with Ginebra in the past, when he was offered a contract weeks after his deal with the Gin Kings expired, enabling the team to retain its rights over him.
In an article published recently by popular local sports website Spin.ph, Tan related that they offered Slaughter a contract, which the team’s management made known by sending him an official letter through a courier service, but it was the player who refused to sign a new deal with them.
The Batang Pier executive even claimed that Slaughter demanded a salary way above the P420,000 monthly salary limit for players. The latter belied Tan’s statement, saying he was instead offered a compensation package half of what he was previously earning in the league.
“From all indications, this issue between Greg and NorthPort would most likely lead to an ugly split, and any development about the matter is closely being monitored by Converge, which stated its need for a quality big man to join its roster. If he will not be traded to other teams, the possibility of Greg donning a Converge uniform is huge when the 47th PBA season opens,” the same source concluded.