Rain or Shine practically got a bargain for Javee Mocon when they shipped him to the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters.
The deal is simple - trade a young combo forward to a team that is part-competitive and part-conduit for a bunch of picks. Rain or Shine loves these picks. In the last ten drafts, Rain or Shine averaged 3.8 picks for the first and second rounds combined - including six picks in 2019 because the team also had a pick in the Special Gilas Round.
The Elastopainters are acquiring the Season 48 first-round pick, the Season 49 second-round pick, and Nick DeMusis - the second-year player who averaged 2.9 points and 2.9 rebounds in 19 games last season.
So won this trade?
Definitely Phoenix.
The name of Mocon - an incoming third-year star who ranked second in points for ROS last season (11.8 points) and ranked first in rebounds and steals (7.5 rebounds and 1.2 steals) in 24 games (tied for first alongside Gabe Norwood) is a person of interest that could help the team to keep Matthew Wright from bolting to an overseas pro league.
From potential breakout threats, Phoenix lost Calvin Abueva, Vic Manuel, Justin Chua, and Chris Banchero. This messed up the squad. Last season, only six players averaged five points and more. One of them is Sean Anthony who has yet to play for the team in his nth entry from its lineage (he has previously played for Air21 and Barako Bull). A triumvirate of Wright, Jason Perkins, and Mocon is good although it's not enough to keep Wright from going to some random squad in Japan.
But as mentioned, Javee Mocon is going to be extremely helpful in both helping Phoenix win and at the same time, keeping Wright in their squad.
I can't stress this enough - they have been letting their players leave without any proper compensation. If they want to get rid of the conduit tag, then they need to get the hell out of their sad state.