Apparently, Orlando Johnson’s PBA return will be short-lived.
San Miguel is set to bring in another NBA veteran in Shabazz Muhammad to take his place as its reinforcement in the 2021-22 PBA Governors’ Cup.
The development was first reported by Quinito Henson of the Philippine Star a day after Johnson’s second game — and perhaps last — with the Beermen.
5-year NBA veteran Shabazz Muhammad arrives in Manila tomorrow morning to replace Orlando Johnson & will play for San Miguel Beer in PBA Govs Cup, he’s shown here with player agent Roger Jimenez pic.twitter.com/Xr2R2oiaH3
— Quinito Henson (@TheDeanQuinito) February 21, 2022
Muhammad, who initially committed to play for Meralco but begged off at the last minute due to family matters, is said to arrive in Manila on Tuesday morning.
This move comes as a surprise, to say the least, since Johnson played exceptionally well to power SMB past former team GInebra on Sunday.
There, he finished with 31 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists in their 110-102 victory to get back on track in the season-ending conference.
It was a different outing from his San Miguel debut against TNT on Wednesday, where he only scored 12 on 3-of-22 shooting in the 81-96 loss.
Johnson went 1-1 with the Beermen.
Now, the flagship SMC franchise is set to welcome Muhammad, who last played for the Grand Rapids Gold in the NBA G-League last December.
With this, the 29-year-old can finally play in the PBA after that failed stint with the Bolts, who went on to tap Tony Bishop as their import.
SMB is at fifth in the standings at 4-3. It returns to action on Wednesday against Phoenix, who’s also 4-3, at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
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