MANILA, Philippines – Ray Parks and TNT have finally agreed on a deal after more than two weeks of negotiations. 

The second-generation star will play for the KaTropa in the upcoming PBA season as he inked a one-year max deal with the team on Monday, February 17. 

“It was a long negotiation but that is the way negotiations go – you try and get the best value for both of you,” said TNT team manager Gabby Cui on the signing of Parks, whose contract expired on January 31.

“Maybe in the start we didn’t see eye to eye, but through constant communication, we found a solution, a win-win solution.” 

Parks is expected to join the team in practice on Tuesday, February 18, as the KaTropa eye to capitalize on the absence of June Mar Fajardo and Greg Slaughter in the Philippine Cup in their bid to end a five-year title drought. 

Cui believes Parks has more to bring to the table after his first conference with TNT resulted in a semifinals appearance in the Governors’ Cup last season. 

“I think we’ve barely scratched the surface of what Ray Parks can do. You see his stats, he’s an NBA talent,” Cui said.

“We’ve seen what he can do and if he does the best in his ability and performs well, sky is the limit. The rewards at the end of the rainbow will be good for both [of us] if we win a championship also.”

Parks’ return to national team duties, though, may have to be delayed despite him reaching an agreement with the KaTropa.

The 26-year-old combo guard was included in Gilas Pilipinas’ initial 24-man pool for the first window of the FIBA Asia Cup 2021 Qualifiers, but has yet to attend practice due to his negotiations with TNT. 

Now that those negotiations are over, it might be too late for Parks to catch up, especially since the Philippines will be facing Indonesia on Sunday, February 23. 

“We want him for the other window and all the other guys who weren’t able to make it because of their preparation for the PBA,” Cui said. – Rappler.com