Mikey Williams’ absence is already hurting his personal relationship with some of his teammates at TNT Tropang Giga in the Philippine Basketball Association.
TNT interim coach Jojo Lastimosa said it will not be easy for his teammates to accept Williams if and when he suddenly decides to suit up for the Tropang Giga in the Commissioner’s Cup on 5 November.
Lastimosa said they haven’t heard anything from Williams with no less than TNT governor Ricky Vargas and their battery of lawyers taking the lead in the negotiation.
“I have nothing from the management as of now,” Lastimosa said.
“I try not to ask but rely only on information given.”
Williams is under contract until 2025, but he has yet to show up when the Tropang Giga resumed practice last month.
The Tropang Giga are now in a training camp at the Inspire Academy in Laguna with former PBA import Sean Chambers, Lastimosa’s teammate in Alaska, serving as special trainer.
Lastimosa had been at odds with the Filipino-American playmaker as early as last season. In fact, he went through similar experience last year when Williams took his sweet time before signing a contract.
Lastimosa and Williams, however, managed to iron out the kinks and they became huge factors in the Tropang Giga’s successful campaign over Justin Brownlee and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in the Governors’ Cup last year.
Now, Williams is at it again as he is letting his entire team hanging without barely two weeks left before the new PBA season unwraps on 5 November.
Lastimosa said the entire team is now getting frustrated.
“It’s hard to say (what the players feel). But if I were his teammate, it would be hard for me to accept him back, knowing that he broke the trust of the team not only once,” Lastimosa said.
“Others might be forgiving and I’d like to believe that I’m a forgiving person, but firm on the fact that the second time you break the rules, there’s consequence involved already.”
TNT is busy preparing not just in the coming PBA season, but also in the East Asia Super League’s first home and away tournament that started this month and will end in March next year.
Still, Lastimosa remains upbeat over their chances in the coming season.
“We don’t know if and when Mikey will return,” Lastimosa said.
“That means we need to step up in our games, from Rondae (Hollis-Jefferson), Calvin (Oftana) and Jayson (Castro), who will be asked to do more production this season.”
