THE MIKEY WILLIAMS SAGA CONTINUES

MIKEY "HE'S A TRAP" WILLIAMS

TNT has yet to win a game with Jordan Heading, but at least he’s available. The same goes for Mikey Williams—yes, that saga is back. And this time, it feels like TNT just offloaded a ticking time bomb to a young, promising franchise.

According to Homer Sayson, Williams is reportedly asking for a staggering ₱1.5 million a month just to sign with Converge. At nearly 34 years old, that's a steep price tag—and it seems the FiberXers aren’t buying it. For Converge to remain competitive, they need to maintain internal order. Throwing a fortune at Williams might land them a star, but it could also throw off the team’s chemistry.

Besides, that money might be better spent locking in Schonny Winston or preparing for when their twin towers, Justine Baltazar and Justin Arana, need new deals. Overpaying one player could have a domino effect—impacting future negotiations and potentially thinning out their bench.

While Heading has a history of bouncing around different leagues, he seems to have found a potential long-term home with TNT as long as he plays his cards right. Williams, on the other hand, has no problem coasting or burning bridges. And while many say TNT duped Converge into this situation, it’s not like they didn’t offer a warning. Remember, TNT willingly sacrificed their Grand Slam chances just to freeze Williams out.

As long as TNT holds his rights, Williams remains restricted from suiting up for any other PBA team unless someone offers TNT a king’s ransom in return. So not only did TNT offload their most polarizing asset, they also received Heading and Mike Nieto in what essentially became a two-for-one deal.

Now, Williams is Converge’s headache. Meanwhile, the only “problem” Chot Reyes has is figuring out how to turn Heading’s production into wins—which isn’t really a problem at all. In his first two games in the Philippine Cup (after miraculously recovering from the “back spasms” that sidelined him at Converge), Heading averaged 11.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.5 assists.

And it’s not like TNT lost to cellar dwellers either—they went up against Barangay Ginebra and Magnolia.

As for Mikey Williams? He hasn’t played in the PBA for two straight seasons, yet he’s negotiating like he’s Jordan Clarkson.

Mikey Williams could thrive elsewhere in Asia—maybe in Japan or Korea, where the money can be just as good. But his biggest issue will be stability. Imports rarely have a safety net, and while he’s not considered old by Asian league standards, teams will inevitably start questioning his value once the losses stack up.

Yes, players like Matthew Wright, Kiefer Ravena, and now Arvin Tolentino are earning well overseas—but they all have one key advantage: a reliable fallback in the PBA. That’s the real issue here. You can’t demand a shot and then overplay your hand, especially when the PBA—whether people like it or not—is still the best safety net for players with Filipino roots. It’s similar to how Yi Jianlian or Zhou Qi were able to return to the CBA and remain stars after their NBA stints.

If Williams continues to burn his PBA bridges, the alleged ₱1.5 million per month dream deal he’s chasing might stay just that—a dream. At this point in his career, with his earning window slowly closing, it makes more sense to sign with a team now and ask for the moon later. Otherwise, the opportunity might vanish entirely.

Then again, he’s no longer TNT’s problem. And maybe, just maybe, the rumored internal issues within Converge are part of the reason these negotiations keep hitting a wall.