CHICAGO - Adelaide 36ers head coach C.J. Bruton is in a pickle.
He likes Kai Sotto a lot and is eager to be an accessory to the 7-foot-3 Filipino's quest of making it to the NBA.
But for Kai to reach that ultimate goal, he needs as much exposure as he can get in the NBL, a very physical and highly-competitive league that has grown its reputation as the best gateway to the NBA.
[READ: CJ Bruton on Sotto: 'I'm not out to hurt the kid']
Unfortunately, Bruton can't give Kai more than the 5 minutes and 8.3 seconds of playing time per game that his young center is already getting.
"I need Kai to have five minutes in the tank," Bruton told me in a telephone interview yesterday.
Don't bother pulling up the glossary of terms in that dusty, seldom-used basketball dictionary.
What Bruton said was coachspeak for the need to do five straight minutes of going hard at every possession and racing up and down the floor as if the fate of the universe were at stake.
Right now, Kai, who is ninth in the team in minutes played at 15:26, is a little short on his coach's stamina measuring stick.
"He has three minutes in the tank," Bruton added. He also revealed that Kai "did not do well" in a fitness test conducted during a long off-season where Kai changed agents and did only shooting drills and workouts instead of actually playing.
But that's all in the past now and what's immediate is for Kai to manifest more improvements in endurance, speed, power and timing to be able to earn more playing time.
ALL OF WHICH ARE A FAIR ASK.
So before you throw stones at coach C.J. over the delusion that he is hindering the growth and development of our national treasure, pause to ponder the thought that Bruton also has to look after the interests and feelings of 14 other players in his locker room.
And his primary job is to make sure the 36ers win every time they step on the floor and the team trusts him that he is going about that mission by making sure those who are getting the most playing time are the ones putting Adelaide in the best position to succeed.
And the general consensus is that 46-year old Bruton, a six-time NBL champion and former NBL Grand Final MVP who has been in the coaching grind since 2007, knows exactly what he's doing.

As for Kai and those precious playing minutes, there is an abundance of hope.
"We're teaching him to be a pro," a source familiar with Team Kai told me yesterday.
There is evidence to back up the optimism.
Last October 2, against the NBA's Phoenix Suns, Kai Sotto acquitted himself well against one the world's best centers, DeAndre Ayton.
Entrusted with 18 minutes to work with, Kai impressed with 11 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field and 1-of-2 from 3. He also grabbed 2 rebounds and an assist to help Adelaide score a stunning 134-124 upset.
With his willingness to learn and relentless work ethic, Kai is progressing well and he clearly has the formula needed to produce the kind of combat-ready, finished product that coach Bruton is looking for.
There's a lot of noise about how Kai's ascent to the top of his sport hasn't been swift enough.
Don't mind all that. History has shown that bigs tend to take more time to develop
And besides, greatness comes to those who wait.
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