KAI Sotto isn't losing sight of his ultimate goal of making it to the NBA.
But Adelaide 36ers general manager Jeff Van Groningen warned the Filipino prodigy not to take his stint in the National Basketball League (NBL) in Australia lightly.
"The National Basketball League is a tough league," he said. "It's a very strong league and improving league. It's gone from being one of the top 10 leagues in the world perhaps 10 years ago to certainly I think in the top five leagues in the world now."
Sotto's party, though, needs not to fret when it comes to the 7-foot-3 center's future as Adelaide has been in this situation before.
The club, after all, has a good track record among former players who made it to the NBA.
Terrance Ferguson first played for the 36ers from 2016 to 2017 before he was taken 21st overall in the 2017 NBA Draft. He saw action for the Oklahoma City Thunder from 2017 to 2020 before he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
Mitch Creek also suited up for Adelaide from 2010 to 2018 before he came to the NBA in 2019 and went to the Brooklyn Nets and the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Rick Brunson also spent his time with the 36ers from 1995 to 1996 before bouncing around the NBA, having stops in Portland Trailblazers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Toronto Raptors, Los Angeles Clippers, Seattle Supersonics, and Houston Rockets from 1997 to 2006.
And the first Adelaide player to make it to the NBA was Mark Bradtke, who played for the club from 1988 to 1992 before spending a season in Philadelphia from 1996 to 1997.
Just this season, the 36ers have 18-year-old Josh Giddey as a part of their team under the Next Stars program and the 6-foot-7 forward is projected to be a first-round selection in the 2021 NBA Draft.
The proven success of that model is what Van Groningen wants Sotto's camp to look at.
"We think that when you look at that, when [head coach] Conner [Henry] and I discussed this chance to be a part of Kai Sotto's journey, we really drew upon the fact that we just been through with many of these things with a young player," he said.
"In terms of helping him develop, helping him where he wants to go, every player is different, every journey is different. But we learn from our experiences and we believe from our discussions with Kai, from our discussions with [Sotto's agent] Joel Bell, from a long time standing relationship that I've had with Joel, which has been a tremendous one, and Conner's understanding of the landscape, we are three gentlemen who are aligned with our thoughts about what this league could do and more specifically, what our team could do for Kai Sotto to develop."
Still, Van Groningen noted that it's up to Sotto to put in the work to fulfill his potential.
"The young man is on the path. He has work to do and he is aware of the work that's ahead of him, but he's also a talented and gifted young guy that has the physical attributes as well as interest in the game and the love for the game and great people around him," he said.
"He has parents that want him to do well, a father that played professionally, and agents that have represented many NBA players. When you start to add those ingredients together with what we believe we can give here in Adelaide with our solid leadership and great coaching, a specific current development coach that we are appointing to work with him, a strength and conditioning guy that comes out of our elite level sporting circles here in Australia that's gonna oversee his strength and conditioning, his diet and his nutrition, his build as far where he needs to go in the next few years, we believe we have those pieces in place."
And it all begins once Sotto arrives in Australia in August.
"There's only one thing remaining and that's for Kai to arrive and that's for Kai go to work," said Van Groningen. "We're grateful, we're humbled, we appreciate the faith that's been put in us. What we're trying to do is set that stage so that what matters now is how hard the young man works so that the coaches and Kai can do the rest."
"Unlike some platforms, this is not an exhibition platform. We're in a middle of a fight and we try to make playoff basketball in one of the toughest leagues in the world. So our focus is on the team. And it's on him, being a part of an already established team. He'll have to work hard and they'll work with him. But the enormous reward is that they're there to be a part of that real-life day-to-day team environment and from a team that's trying to be in the playoffs and win a championship in the next couple of years, what we think is he's going to rise and really going to be a great part for us."
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