New Jersey 5s acquire Federico Staksrud in blockbuster Major League Pickleball trade
For weeks there’s been speculation that the New Jersey 5s could be big players in the Major League Pickleball trade market.
On Monday — deadline day — they finally made their move.
The 5s acquired Federico Staksrud and Milan Rane from the Orlando Squeeze in exchange for Martin Emmrich and Lina Padegimaite. New Jersey also sent an undisclosed amount of cash to Orlando in the deal — the max per player is $200,000. The fact that two players were involved from each team means New Jersey could have paid up to $400,000 in the deal.
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The trade shakes things up at the top of the league. The 5s were already tied for first in the league standings, but St. Louis swept New Jersey at the Mid-Season Tournament two weeks ago, giving the Shock a 2-1 advantage in head-to-head matchups this year.
Most people — including me — had considered St. Louis the favorites heading into the postseason based on the most recent results. I have the Shock at No. 1 in my latest MLP Power Rankings (written before this trade).
New Jersey has one regular-season event remaining — MLP Orlando from July 30-Aug. 2 — and St. Louis will be in the opposite pool in that event. If both teams win their pool, we could get one last head-to-head matchup in the final of that event before the playoffs.
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It’s unclear who Staksrud will pair with in men’s doubles and mixed doubles — New Jersey now has three very solid men’s players in Staksrud, Noe Khlif and Will Howells.
New Jersey GM Ryan Harwood declined to reveal the team’s plans for lineups moving forward, but shared some general thoughts on the trade with The Kitchen.
“We never felt we HAD to make a move as we’ve shown we are capable of beating anyone when playing well. However, if you have a chance to acquire players like Fed and Milly, you must take it seriously,” Harwood said. “It was important to us to keep both Will & Noe as they are both incredible players who deserve to be there if we succeed in our ultimate goal.”
To this point in the season, Khlif has been playing with Anna Leigh Waters in mixed doubles (they’re 23-3), while Howells has partnered with Jorja Johnson (they’re 15-6). Khlif and Howells are 14-12 in men’s doubles, which has led to frequent criticism from fans and pundits this season.
“My message to Will and Noe this whole season has been to control the controllables,” Harwood said. “Focus on your effort, attitude and yourselves and the rest will take care of itself. It’s inevitable you’re going to take heat when you’re on a top team. … These guys take it head on and welcome the pressure.”
