Ray Parks still negotiating new deal with TNT

MANILA, Philippines–Ray Parks Jr., one of the top PBA rookies of 2019, has yet to decide with finality which team he is suiting up for in the upcoming season.

“[TNT and I] are still in negotiation,” Parks Jr., son of the late PBA great Bobby Ray, told the Inquirer in a text message Thursday.

In a separate interview, KaTropa mentor Bong Ravena said that the team management and the second overall pick of the 2018 Rookie Draft are indeed still trying to strike a new deal.

The 3-time local Most Valuable Player of Asean Basketball League was not present during KaTropa’s practice at Ateneo’s Moro Lorenzo Sports Center.

Ravena said TNT has given the 26-year-old cager time to thoroughly assess his predicament.

TNT, the flagship team of the MVP group, inherited Parks’ two-conference contract with Blackwater, partly in a bid to replicate its Commissioner’s Cup Finals run.

Parks was then coming off a stellar showing for the Elite, which he helped to a 7-4 elimination record and franchise-best No. 3 seed going into the playoffs.

For now, Parks, also a multi-time national team player, said he is channeling his focus onto himself.

“I’m getting in the best shape possible so that when the time comes, I’ll be ready,” he said.