Conventional basketball wisdom says you don’t trade a big for a guard. From that vantage point alone, Chot Reyes certainly took a big gamble in 2008 when he traded 6-foot-7 Jay Washington to the San Miguel Beermen for the pick that turned out to be Jayson Castro.
Yes, that Jayson Castro. The Blur. The two-time Best Point Guard of Asia. The many-time Gilas Pilipinas hero.
Getting Jayson Castro Was the Right Move
Eighteen years after that risky deal, Washington is out of the league. Jayson Castro, on the other hand, keeps showing out. In fact, in TNT’s win over the NLEX Road Warriors on Wednesday, The Blur joined an elite list made up of only 16 other locals: the PBA’s 10,000-point club.
For Reyes, the man who took a gamble on Castro, this achievement was a long time coming—and he couldn’t be any prouder.
“That’s a recognition that’s long coming,” Reyes said after the NLEX game. “I’m very proud of his journey, kasi kung maalala niyo, we made a really big, risky move when we traded a guy by the name of Jay Washington. When I got to Talk ‘N Text, basically he was our best player.”
Reyes Bets Big on Jayson Castro—and Wins
Reyes is right. Washington, the top overall pick of the 2005 PBA Draft, had developed not only as Talk ‘N Text’s best player, but also as one of the league’s top dogs. In fact, he put up 12.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 1.8 assists in the season immediately before he was dealt to San Miguel. It just so happened that Reyes wanted Castro—badly.
“We made that move to be able to be in a position to draft Jayson Castro,” Reyes added. “Who would’ve known he would be in that elite club of ten thousand points?”
It is an elite club, all right, and Castro officially got in at the 3:25 mark of the third quarter when he made the first of two free throws. So, 18 years and 10,000 points later, it probably is safe to say that trading Washington for Castro was the right move all along.
What a Journey It Has Been
Looking back, it really has been quite the ride—the one Chot Reyes and Jayson Castro have shared through all these years. From a scrawny, unpolished gem, The Blur has evolved into a complete player and winner, mostly with Reyes by his side.
“More than the award, what I’m proud of is his journey from that young guy who was starting off with us all the way to his evolution to now,” Reyes further said.
That journey has seen Jayson Castro win 10 PBA titles, three Finals MVPs, five Best Player of the Conference awards, and five Mythical First Team selections—all while representing Gilas Pilipinas for so many years.
And the thing is, that journey is still ongoing. But that gamble Reyes took in 2008?
It’s all paid in full.
