Major League Pickleball announces multiple trades one day before deadline
Last Edited
Feb 14 2025
Category
News
Major League Pickleball on Friday announced multiple trades involving Premier Level and Challenger Level teams, including a deal that sends Andrei Daescu -- one of the top men's players in the league -- to a new squad.
Trade No. 1: Phoenix Flames trade Daescu to Columbus Sliders in exchange for Jay Devilliers and cash considerations.
This is a surprising move considering Daescu has been regularly contending for men's doubles and mixed doubles gold medals on the PPA Tour, while Devilliers is coming off of an injury that occurred last season and hasn't had the same results as Daescu in the past year.
It's also surprising considering Proton Sports recently bought a controlling stake in the Phoenix Flames at a valuation north of $10 million, and Daescu is a prominent Proton sponsored player. It's the second trade Phoenix has been involved in this week after acquiring Tyson McGuffin, Meghan Dizon and $25,000 from the Orlando Squeeze in exchange for Lacy Schneeman and Dylan Frazier.
Trade No. 2: Las Vegas Night Owls trade Rafa Hewett to the California Black Bears in exchange for Chris Haworth and cash considerations.
It's also been a busy week for the Black Bears, who acquired Layne Sleeth from the Brooklyn Aces in exchange for Amanda Hendry and cash considerations on Thursday.
Trade No. 3: Las Vegas Night Owls acquire Pablo Tellez from the Brooklyn Aces in exchange for Blaine Hovenier and cash considerations.
Updated rosters
Phoenix Flames (Premier): Jay Devilliers, Meghan Dizon, Jessie Irvine, Tyson McGuffin.
Columbus Sliders (Premier): Andrei Daescu, CJ Klinger, Callie Smith, Parris Todd.
Brooklyn Aces (Challenger): Danie De La Rosa, Amanda Hendry, Blaine Hovenier, Andrea Koop.
California Black Bears (Challenger): Brandon French, Rafa Hewett, Lina Padegimaite, Layne Sleeth.
Las Vegas Night Owls (Challenger): Judit Castillo, Chris Haworth, Pablo Tellez, Chao Yi “Zoey” Wang.
On the Premier side of things, the trade creates some familiar partnerships. Daescu and Klinger recently teamed up for a gold medal at the PPA Tour Daytona Beach Open, while Columbus teammates Smith and Todd also have plenty of experience playing together.
And it's a reunion of sorts on the Phoenix roster, as Devilliers and McGuffin played most of 2023 together on the PPA Tour.
In the Challenger Level, getting Tellez should give Las Vegas a big boost, as he is considered on of the top men's players in the challenger division. It's somewhat surprising that a Premier Level team didn't go after Tellez in a trade, but that could still happen.
Hewett is also a top-tier men's player in Challenger and had previously played for California.
As Major League Pickleball announced last month, teams are able to make trades until Feb. 15.
Every team will be also required to drop at least one player from their 2024 season-ending roster by the keeper deadline of Feb. 16.
After teams have made their keeper selections, there will be Premier and Challenger Level free agency operated by dynamic bidding for each selection slot (minimum bid amounts to be shared at a later date). This gives teams the chance to utilize whatever bidding strategy they see fit in order to build the best full roster, in a process similar to the 2024 Premier Level draft.
Premier Level teams will acquire between three and six players (depending on how many players they keep) during a free agency draft on Sunday, March 2.
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