CHICAGO - Kai Sotto made another big, bold step in his ongoing journey to make it to the NBA after East West Private, his management team signed super agent Aaron Goodwin (AG) as his NBA agent representative.
In an exclusive to SPIN.ph, East West Private (EWP) made the official announcement on Friday afternoon (early Saturday morning RP time).
"From the time Kai first arrived in the U.S. last April, we already knew that AG would be a perfect fit. We trust AG implicitly and look forward to a long lasting relationship," EWP's Patty Scott told SPIN.
The EWP-Goodwin collaboration is a marriage between two reputable entities that have worked together in the sports industry for well over a decade. It is a relationship anchored on mutual respect and a shared vision for success.
Under this arrangement, EWP and Goodwin will be working closely together to help Kai develop both his basketball career and the business side of Kai’s brand.
"We're not just building dreams here. We want to create a legacy that will see Kai becoming an NBA player, and ultimately, an All-Star," said Maria Espaldon a partner at EWP.
"I am excited," Goodwin said in a telephone interview. "Kai has all the tools unique for his size. He reminds me so much of Toni Kukoc. He plays inside-out, can pass, run the floor, and shoot 3s. If he plays center he can really revolutionize the position."
Goodwin said he heard of Kai through EWP and has been watching his trajectory quietly from a distance ever since.
"Kai has a potential to be a great player but the expectation is for him to transcend his sport and become a legacy player and a global ambassador” Goodwin added.
A titan in the shark-infested sports agency waters, Goodwin has an impressive clients list. This has included LeBron James. Kevin Durant. DeMar DeRozan, Chris Webber, Dwight Howard, Gary Payton and Damian Lilliard whom he helped negotiate a four-year contract extension with the Portland Trail Blazers worth $196 million in June 2019.
Sotto, who led the Ateneo Blue Eaglets to the UAAP title in 2018, winning Finals MVP honors along the way, moved to the The Skill Factory in Atlanta early last year to put himself in the best position to fulfill the childhood dream of reaching pro basketball's highest peak.
And so the saga continues.
"The sky is the limit," Goodwin added.
Wooed by European ball clubs and top Division 1 schools in the U.S. in recent months, Kai announced last Wednesday that he was instead entering the G-League through its Select program.
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