CHICAGO - In the span of a few hours last Wednesday, two big developments happened on the Kai Sotto front.
One was that the Filipino big man had signed a contract extension with the Hiroshima Dragonflies of the Japan B.League. And the other was the news that he is joining the Utah Jazz in a mini camp next week.
READ: Kai to join Utah Jazz in mini camp
The two stories, which appeared conflicting on the surface, had basketball fans' brains twisted like pretzels.
Well, here's our best attempt to untangle the confusion.
Since Kai has a newly-minted contract in Japan, why is he about to canoodle with other Utah Jazz prospects this coming May 30 and 31, you might want to know.
READ: Sotto still uncertain for World Cup. Here's why
That's because his B.League contract has an "NBA opt-out" clause that allows him to pursue his NBA dream. In some ways, it's the same stipulation that allows Filipino Asian imports to temporarily leave their mother teams in Japan to answer the call of Gilas.
So, what happens in the event that Kai makes it to the NBA?
"That means the NBA would have to pay the buyout fee to the Japanese team," a powerhouse NBA agent told SPIN.ph via text message.
Hope this clears the air.
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