George King had an impressive stint with Blackwater in the ongoing PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup and has expressed his intention to join Gilas Pilipinas.
George King to Gilas Pilipinas does not seem possible in the foreseeable future.
Gilas head coach Tim Cone said there is no need for the national team to naturalize another player at the moment, given they have guys like Justin Brownlee and Ange Kouame on the active roster.
Former San Miguel import Bennie Boatwright also has his naturalization still in process.
“The first time I saw him I thought ‘Wow, he’d be really good for the national team,’” Cone told One Sports of the former NBA player.
“But we’ve got Justin, we’ve got Bennie Boatwrirght at this point. We'll see what happens.”
[RELATED STORY: George King to Gilas? Blackwater import expresses desire for Philippine team call-up]
The prospect of King joining the pool of naturalized players became rife after he finished his stint with Blackwater in the ongoing PBA Season 49 Governors’ Cup, firing an incredible 64 points in a win against Rain or Shine.
King, who has ties with Filipino-American NBA star Jordan Clarkson, later expressed his desire play for the Philippine team.
“I would love to play for the national team. I would love to put that blue no. 94 jersey on, I would love to do that,” he said.
And as much as Cone wants that as well, it’s just not possible at this point in time.
“It’s really difficult to naturalize players. Everybody thinks it's just an easy thing, it’s not, [it's] a difficult process. Even right now with Bennie Boatwright, his naturalization has been five months already, that we’ve been trying to naturalize him,” he said.
“I really like George King. I think he’s awesome. It would be something we will consider but right now it’s not a need for us,” he added.