Ray Parks of the Dallas Mavericks (right) guards fellow Filipino-American Jordan Clarkson of the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Summer League. Photo taken from the Los Angeles Lakers official Instagram account
Coach Tim Cone would love to see Bobby Ray Parks in an NBA Developmental League uniform.
The newly anointed Barangay Ginebra coach said Thursday the Filipino-American prospect should spend precious time in the D-League to reach his NBA dream.
“From playing in the UAAP to working out in the NBA, that’s a big huge jump,” said Cone, who watched the 6-foot-4 Parks in action during the recent NBA Summer League in Las Vegas.
READ: ‘Hungry’ Parks relentlessly pursuing NBA ambition
Parks, a two-time UAAP MVP from the NU Bulldogs, played for the Dallas Mavericks and averaged 3.0 points on 55-percent shooting, 1.7 rebounds and one steal in 10.5 minutes.
“At the beginning, it was difficult for him. But the more and more he played, the more and more he believed in himself. His confidence is
growing,” said Cone. “If he plays in the D-League for a couple of months, say 20-30-40 games, he could make it.”
READ: Parks scores four points in Mavs’ Summer League exit
The NBA aspirations of Parks hit a snag when the Mavericks completed the final piece of their backcourt by signing up free agent John
Jenkins.
“He’s doing it right. Problem is, he wasn’t getting much time. But you can see he just knew the game and understood the game,’’ said Cone, who scouted for imports in Vegas.
In his best output in the Summer League, Parks had 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and one assist in 21 minutes against the NBA D-League Select during the second round of the playoffs.
READ: WATCH: Bobby Ray Parks plays best game yet in NBA Summer League
“Really, the D-League is a tough life. The money is very small, travel is really hard and the hotels are bad,’’ said Cone.
“You talk with the imports, they have one year in the D-League and no more. They would rather play overseas, but it’s the closest you’ll be in the NBA.” CFC