First Trade in BIG3 History Lacks Big Names, But Begs All Sorts of Questions

The Big3 basketball league is currently demanding your attention during the slowest week of the sports year. First they moved their championship game from the T-Mobile Arena to the MGM Grand Garden after receiving a “generous offer” from the people putting on the Floyd Mayweather – Conor McGregor fight. Now there’s been a trade.

In an unprecedented move Tri-State has sent Xavier Silas to the Ball Hogs in exchange for Dominic McGuire. I mean, did you know there were trades in this league? And the captains can just agree on the trades? Seriously, Jermaine O’Neal and Brian Scalabrine just did this. In person? Via text? Is there a BIG3 Trade Machine? They didn’t have to run this by Ice Cube? What about coaches Rick Barry and Julius Irving?

I guess I hadn’t paid much attention to this league besides the injuries, but it’s a very strange set-up. Some of the coaches are players. Some aren’t. Allen Iverson is a player/coach and captain. Meanwhile Charles Oakley is just a player/coach and Chauncey Billups is the captain of his team. Who is in charge in that situation? And should Iverson and Oakley both be wearing tear-away swuits on the sideline?

And how much actual power do the coaches have in the games? I mean, if a captain can trade a player, can he also fire the coach? Who wields the most power in this league? Can a captain trade himself if he’s also the coach? Would Allen Iverson have to fire himself before he could trade himself? And can he strip himself of his captaincy to prevent this? Is there some sort of designated survivor-type plan in place to make sure the teams don’t descend into total chaos?

Did you realize that 5 of the 8 teams in this league have names that have to do with then number 3? (3’s Company, 3-Headed Monsters, Killer 3’s, Trilogy, Tri-State) Is it a coincidence that three teams don’t have names related to the number 3?

Back to the trade. Xavier Silas, 29, played collegiately at Colorado and NIU and appeared in 2 games with the 76ers in 2012. Last year he was in the NBA D(now G)-League. Dominic McGuire, 31, went to Cal and has played for the Wizards, Kings, Charlotte Bobcats, Warriors, Raptors, New Orleans Hornets, and Pacers. He’s been playing overseas since 2014.

These guys are obviously very good at basketball. They’ve been playing professionally around the world for the better part of the last decade. Silas is 3rd in the league in assists with 3.5 a game and McGuire is 5th in rebounding with 7.5. (Source) Still, it’s kind of surprising to see them alongside the household names in this league. And now if this league goes on for decades and becomes a beloved part of the sporting landscape they’ll be trivia answers.

Or this could be the only trade in the history of the league. Anything is possible because I’m not sure they’re even certain they can make trades. Is this like a fantasy football league where the other coaches vote on the trade? Can Cube just decline the trade like David Stern did with the Chris Paul trade? Is there a trade deadline? No. I don’t really want to know the answer to any of these questions. I just want this league to continue to be.