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    Cone not going for an NBA job even with the Summer League gig

    PBA's winningest coach eager to gain knowledge he can apply when he returns to Gin Kings
    Jun 22, 2022
    Tim Cone Ginebra vs NLEX
    Tim Cone is eager to gain knowledge that he can apply when he returns to the Gin Kings.
    PHOTO: Jerome AscaƱo

    BARANGAY Ginebra coach Tim Cone said he has no plans of pursuing an NBA job after being given a chance to be part of the coaching staff of the Miami Heat in the NBA Summer League from July 7 to 18.

    Tim Cone on joining Heat Summer League team

    Cone is set to fly on July 28 to join the Heat’s Summer League team that will play in San Francisco and Las Vegas. He will be one of the assistant coaches of Malik Allen for the competition.

    “It’s a dream come true,” said Cone. “It’s a bucket list for me. Number one in that bucket list. Did I say I was excited? I’m excited to do it. We will see.”

    But Cone said the NBA Summer League gig is not a platform for him for a possible NBA job as it will be difficult to secure such position at his age.

    “First of all, if I ever went to the NBA, it will be at the bottom, and then you work your way up. I’m not just going to walk in and be a star coach or first assistant or whatever. You have to work your way up. And when you have to work your way up, there are young guys like Jimmy Alapag.”

    “I don’t have enough time to do that,” said Cone.

    Cone said his close relationship with Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra certainly had a role in the opportunity. He also admitted that he was supposed to take part in the Heat Summer League as early as 2020, but the pandemic came.

    The Ginebra coach also said Spoelstra is not interested to take an NBA coaching job in the near future.

    “I was actually supposed to do these two years ago in 2020. But the Summer League was cancelled because of the pandemic and then there was talk about me doing it last year but we were just entering the playoffs at that time. I think the Summer League was late August because of the pandemic, they moved it back. The opportunity arose this time,” said Cone.

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    “Coach Spo, he knows me that I’m not interested in that. If I was, I think that he will not allow me to do it. This is truly a guest coaching thing. I’m not being paid. I’m coming home. Four games, I’m coming home. I'll be happy to get home. I’ll be happy to do my own thing. There is no intention from me, and there is certainly no intention for coach Spo and the Miami Heat,” said Cone.

    Teams from the NBA Summer League will not be fielding their regular NBA players. Rookies and several players who are eyeing a spot in the NBA will comprise the line-up of all teams in the Summer League.

    The PBA’s winningest coach said he had always wondered how NBA coaches do their work with their teams during practice and games, and the experience in the Summer League will give him a little glimpse of what it is like coaching in the NBA on a small scale.

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    “You see from the TV or when you go to an NBA game, and see all that stuff on the court. And then they leave the court and you wonder what the heck is going on in that locker room. What they are talking about, what they are doing in pregame, what they are doing postgame, how do they handle those things. It is like us? Do they do the same things? I’ve always had that in my mind wondering and for the first time, I might get a small preview of what goes on in that locker room. That to me is the most exciting,” said Cone.

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      Cone said he is looking forward to the knowledge that he will gain from the experience which he will also use when he returns to Barangay Ginebra.

      “It’s a step forward for me because of the knowledge I’m going to gain and that’s enough for me. I’m home. I don’t need to go everywhere,” said Cone.

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      Tim Cone is eager to gain knowledge that he can apply when he returns to the Gin Kings.
      PHOTO: Jerome AscaƱo
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