If Terrence Jones had his way, he’d love to be with Houston Rockets and help the team in the ongoing 2019 NBA playoffs.
Back in March, the Rockets signed Jones on a 10-day contract – his second after February – but did not renew after that. That left the 27-year-old at home, just watching Houston go on in the postseason without him.
“I just wasn’t ready to have a summer vacation,” admitted Jones, the Rockets’ 18th overall pick in 2012 out of Kentucky.
“I definitely felt I could’ve helped in the playoffs, but the organization chose to go on a different route.”
Two months since playing in the NBA, Jones finally found an opportunity to play again. But it’s a little far from home.
The 6-foot-9 center from Portland, Oregon now finds himself in the Philippines. He serves as the reinforcement for the TNT KaTropa in the 2019 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, which is set to raise its curtains on May 19.
For a player of Jones’s caliber, the turnaround in his pro career could be seen as a demotion. But the 2012 NCAA champion said that his PBA is a chance for him to improve, both as a player and as an individual.
“I’m treating it as a time for me to get better – physically, mentally. It’s far away from home. But I’m gonna be able to adapt to a different culture, to a different environment. And I’ll still be able to do the thing I love, which is playing basketball.”
Jones has spent just three practices so far with his new team. He also played with them in a tuneup on Thursday versus the Meralco Bolts, which they lost, 83-96. But Jones said everything has been going well for him so far in his stay here.
“It’s a lot of fun, man. It’s a difficult time for me to sleep, you know. The timezone is different, the climate is different, but my teammates and my coaching staff have welcomed me with open arms. They’ve really just welcomed me,” he said.
“We’re just tryna build chemistry and make sure that we’re learning each day to get better for when the season starts. We’re having a lot of fun just getting to learn one another on the court and off the court,” added Jones.
“I think we’re gonna have a lot of fun together.”
But aside from using his Philippine trip to improve himself, Jones said that he is also looking forward to bringing his eight-year-old son over here. The seven-year pro revealed that his son is actually of Filipino descent.
“He’s eight years old. His mother has Filipino in her,” said Jones, who was part of the Rockets team that played here in Manila in the NBA Global Games back in 2013. “So it’s gonna be exciting to try to get him down here.
“[Make him] see a little bit of his culture and have fun with it.”
