New NorthPort big man Greg Slaughter maintained Barangay Ginebra did not offer him a new contract as he went on a hiatus from the PBA and trained in the United States.

Slaughter announced his decision to take a break from professional basketball barely a month after helping Ginebra win the Governors’ Cup championship last year.

“For the record and to be perfectly clear: last February 2020, I did not have an offer or an existing contract when I decided to train in the States,” Slaughter wrote on Twitter.

“I also had no knowledge about a trade, I just came off a championship and [a] gold medal in [the] SEA Games after all.”

The seven-footer added he was told the trade rumors were not true following his return to the Philippines, although he did not explicitly say whom he talked to.

“When I returned to the Philippines, at the end of 2020, I asked if the trade rumors were true and was told they were not.”

A Ginebra comeback seemed imminent for Slaughter as coach Tim Cone said he hoped to have the 32-year-old back on board immediately after the team won the Philippine Cup crown last season.

Those hopes were fanned after Cone bared early in February this year that Ginebra already signed Slaughter to a new contract.

However, Slaughter ended up not playing another game for Ginebra as the team traded him to NorthPort in a one-on-one deal for fellow big man Christian Standhardinger.

At NorthPort, Slaughter is expected to play a pivotal role, with coach Pido Jarencio saying he will play a minimum of “30 to 35 minutes” a game. (READ: NorthPort needs Slaughter, says Jarencio)

Slaughter said his “best basketball” is still ahead of him as he begins a new chapter in his PBA career. – Rappler.com