CHICAGO - As he darts back to the U.S. to retrace his steps in the G-League, a pathway to the NBA that he abandoned, the forecast that awaits Kai Sotto is cloudy with a chance of a sad ending.
It is a bad omen when a coach refuses to vouch for a player and plays Pontious Pilate instead by washing his hands on the issue before turning it over to a higher power.
"That's something that will be determined by the people that are above my pay grade," Ignite coach Brian Shaw replied when asked about Kai's fate after the kid's botched attempt to play for the Philippine national team.
I'm not being pessimistic, just realistic.
Look, if everything were fine and dandy, Shaw would've said something that sounds like this: "We're glad he's on his way to the bubble and we can't wait for him to get back to work."
But nah, Shaw was curt, dismissive.
My fear now is that Shaw will follow through on his prior statement that Kai "may not play at all" once he rejoins an Ignite team that has moved on and fared well without him, winning three games in as many starts.
Kai's people said the G-League sanctioned the trip. Of course it did.
But consent and approval are two different things. As far apart as ready and prepared, effective and efficient.
While the G-League endorsed the move, it also probably questioned Kai's commitment.
Kai', on the other hand, has every right to be unhappy with his scarce playing time and miniscule role in the offense. But fleeing the scene, if such were indeed the reasons for his departure, looks whimsical, petty.
If the purpose of joining the G-League "Select" team was to advance Kai's promising NBA hopes, it was defeated the day he took that flight back home.
I sense a fracture in this relationship that will require more than just a tube of Gorilla glue to fix.
What sense does it make for a player to enlist in a "showcase" program and then logs a no-show?
And for what?
Patriotism, honor and sacrifice are among the choice words being used by apologists who are desperate to mask the odor of this foul decision to pluck Kai from the G-League.
I'm happy that Kai honored his word to represent the country when called upon. But would he have been less honorable if he postponed that promise? And did that pledge have an expiration date?
I DON'T THINK SO.
Attaching the word "sacrifice" in this conversation is a blatant abuse and misuse of a noun.
I see sacrifice when a jeepney driver, deprived of a livelihood during this damn pandemic, has to skip meals so that his hungry children won't have to.
Sacrifice applies to our soldiers and policemen who miss family birthdays, weddings and graduation rites because they need to work so that those very gatherings can occur in peace.
Sorry, sacrifice doesn't apply to an elite athlete who flew half the globe - most likely in first-class because there's no way those 7-foot-3 knees will fit on the cheap seats - and is being ferried around town with a chauffeured vehicle.
And please, do not plant that "nationalistic" flag here.
Kai doesn't need to reassert his patriotism by donning a Gilas jersey. He has done it already and he continues to wave our proud red, white and blue at a pre-NBA stage that is infinitely bigger and wider than the FIBA's.
Kai Sotto is a national treasure. And I express that thought not pejoratively, but with fond affection.
Let's not make him a commercial asset or a corporate shill.
Let's give this wonder kid his fair chance at achieving a childhood dream without the adults getting in the way.
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