WHY IT'S HARD FOR SAN MIGUEL TO DO WHAT DALLAS DID TO LUKA

So here’s the deal: the whole basketball world is still wrapping its head around the Luka Doncic trade.

Apparently, Dallas GM Nico Harrison is out of his mind. He sent Luka to a team that, aside from Anthony Davis, Max Christie, and a first-round pick, doesn’t have much to offer in terms of assets to give the Mavericks a solid array of options. To make matters worse, releasing Davis to the Mavs created a frontcourt dilemma for the Lakers.

But here’s the good news for us Filipinos: there’s one player who won’t be facing that mess.

June Mar F'N Fajardo.

Yes, San Miguel recently missed out on the quarterfinals for the first time in years, but it’s not because of their local talent—blame it on the imports. That said, letting go of June Mar in exchange for Chris Newsome or even Arvin Tolentino would be outright insane.

June Mar, Newsome, Tolentino, CJ Perez, and the recently retired Christian Standhardinger led the 2023-24 PBA Mythical First Team, while the Second Team featured Juami Tiongson, Stephen Holt, Calvin Oftana, Cliff Hodge, and Jason Perkins. Yet, not even Scottie Thompson, the last MVP before June Mar’s reign, could hold a candle to The Kraken in a one-for-one trade.

Unlike Dallas, San Miguel isn’t desperate or cash-strapped enough to part ways with arguably the greatest PBA player of all time. The best shot for a June Mar trade might have been when Greg Slaughter was in his prime. Though Slaughter can’t match June Mar now, he actually got the better of him during his rookie year—before Leo Austria took over as head coach of the San Miguel Beermen.

For me, the most memorable one-for-one trade was James Yap for Paul Lee. While Yap’s game was on the decline at the time, it still felt like a fair deal.

But even that trade doesn’t quite measure up in terms of magnitude. The same goes for other big-name swaps in PBA history—Marlou Aquino for Jun Limpot, Asi Taulava for Ali Peek, Asi Taulava for Jerry Codinera, Vergel Meneses for Noli Locsin, and Bong Alvarez for Bong Hawkins. These were all blockbuster deals in their own right, but none reached the level of impact that a potential June Mar Fajardo trade would have.

The only PBA trade that truly matches this level of magnitude was the second time Ramon Fernandez and Abet Guidaben were swapped. The first trade was already significant, but in terms of peak stats, accolades, and overall impact, the Purefoods-San Miguel exchange stands out as the biggest.

1987-88 PBA SEASON

PLAYER	1987 | ACHIEVEMENTS	1988 | ACHIEVEMENTS
RAMON FERNANDEZ	MYTHICAL SECOND TEAM OPEN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS	MOST VALUABLE PLAYER MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM OPEN CONFERENCE RUNNERS-UP ALL-FILIPINO CONFERENCE RUNNERS-UP REINFORCED CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS
ABET GUIDABEN	MOST VALUABLE PLAYER MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM REINFORCED CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS	MYTHICAL FIRST TEAM OPEN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS

And that’s exactly why the Luka Doncic trade feels so mind-boggling. Luka is only 25, just entering his prime. Meanwhile, when PBA teams traded El Presidente and The Pride of Camiguin the second time around, they were already 35 and 36. Sure, PBA superstars tend to hit their peak in their early 30s, but keeping a player with that much leverage is always a challenge.

San Miguel knows this, which is why they will never entertain the idea of trading June Mar Fajardo for the sake of just shaking the foundation. I know San Miguel initiated the trade that sent Guidaben to Purefoods, and over the years, they’ve made similar moves—parting ways with Danny Seigle, Arwind Santos, and Alex Cabagnot.

But the difference? Those trades always worked in their favor. San Miguel rarely makes a deal without coming out on top, and it’s gotten to the point where they almost have to offload stars just to maintain some semblance of league balance. Yet, no matter how many key players they let go, they always find a way to reload. Unlike Dallas, they’re not about to make a move that would shake the league to its core for all the wrong reasons.