CHICAGO — A decade after he first burst into the scene as a high school sensation, Kai Sotto has done the labor that has pushed him at the cusp of realizing his NBA dream
It’s a path that required navigating The Skill Factory, the G-League Ignite, the NBL in Australia and now the B League in Japan.
But how close is he from a hooper’s ultimate goal?
Within striking distance but with more ground to cover.
READ: Kai Sotto planning to retrace college route to NBA? Here's what we know
NEEDS MORE IMPROVEMENT.
“His athleticism has kind of hamstrung him a bit, his mobility up and down the floor,” coach Tab Baldwin made the assessment on my Homer Says Show at Powcast Sports last Thursday night.
In the realm of modern basketball, Baldwin sees Kai not as a true center but a stretch four, a Kristaps Porzingis instead of an Anthony Davis.
Which is where the challenges creep.
“If you play that position, you’re gonna have to guard really good players who have mobility, skill and speed. And that’s where, I think, the question hovers above Kai.”
Baldwin, the former national team coach in Jordan, New Zealand and Gilas Pilipinas, emphasized that the five-out offense commonly run in the NBA “will be a problem for Kai.”
Still, Baldwin believes the 7-foot-3 phenom can be an asset in the NBA “in the right system, the right coach” where the 23-year old can be utilized for “10 to 15 minutes” in a specialist role that involves scoring and rim protection.
SUCCESS DEMANDS TIME.
Tab believes that the NCAA is a great NBA pathway where “he can be seen” and make “more than $300,000 to $600,000 a year.”
There is, however, no sense of urgency on that NBA arrival.
His best years will be between “30 to 35 years old,” said Baldwin, who explained how bigs are typically slower to develop their all-around game.
With God’s grace, good health, and a lot more hard work, Kai will hopefully become the first full-blooded Filipino to climb pro basketball’s highest summit.
But it’s a long and excruciating journey that may require extra years before arriving at its destination.
Now is good, but sometimes, tomorrow can be better.
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