Greg Slaughter may still hold a grudge against the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) for the perceived unfair treatment when he asked for more money from his former team. However, at 36 years old, 'Gregzilla' should consider mending the broken fences and retire with the country's oldest professional basketball league.
Currently, Slaughter is playing for the Manila Stars in the Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (MPBL), where the center is hitting shots at a high clip of 67.1 percent, while averaging 15.7 points and 9.8 rebounds in 18 elimination round games.
The four-time PBA champion's decision to restart his domestic career in the MPBL follows a two-season stint in Division 2 of the Japan B.League with Rizing Zephyr Fukuoka.
Slaughter posted meager career averages of 3.92 points, 2.56 rebounds, 0.44 assists, 0.43 blocks and 0.13 steals in 75 total games played over a two-year period in Japan.
Carrying a 7-foot, 258-pound frame, the 2013 PBA draft top pick had seven-year career with Barangay Ginebra in which aside from four PBA titles, earned him Rookie of the Year honors in 2014, a Best Player of the Conference nod in 2017 and a Mythical Team and five All-Star selections to his name.
He also had a decorated national team stint after winning two UAAP titles with Ateneo, with three gold medals to his name - two in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games (Jakarta 2011 and Manila 2019) and one in the SEA Basketball Association (SEABA) (2011).
The former Blue Eagle's career took a turn in 2021 upon deciding to take a 'basketball hiatus' which ultimately saw him move to Northport in a short-lived, one-year stint following a blockbuster trade for former Ginebra ace Christian Standhardinger.
With the past now behind him, Slaughter should take note of the what the PBA can offer. One team that could help boost his stock is the Meralco Bolts.
His right is still with Northport as long as they are willing to offer a maximum contract. Since Greg is currently a restricted free-agent, Northport has the right to match any offer that Greg will receive.
NorthPort already submitted to the league office a max contract offer of PhP 420,000 a month, a move that implies the Batang Pier have exercised their rights on Greg and essentially boxing out Meralco from securing his services.
Despite that contractual flex, it is clear as day that NorthPort has no intention of keeping Slaughter, throwing slander at him by saying he was "asking for the moon and the stars" when in fact, Greg was already making at least PhP 800,000 a month on his previous deal with Barangay Ginebra.
In short, trade is the only realistic way for Greg to reach Meralco.
A package consisting of Kyle Pascual or Norbert Torres, Alvin Pasaol and a first-round pick in next year's draft would make sense for NorthPort to take in exchange for an asset it has no interest in using.
For the Bolts, adding Slaughter for 2 to 3 years to a line-up that already has Raymond Almazan, Cliff Hodge and Chris Newsome will give Meralco the extra might and length to beat any team in the league.
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