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CHICAGO – After working the night before, I was still cutting through the fog of sleepiness when I heard the familiar sound of a new message landing in my cell phone’s inbox.
It was a blast, the kind that didn’t require caffeine or any chemical enhancement to regain full consciousness.
Kai Sotto is heading to the NBA G-League Select program, I was told.
My initial reaction was: Wow!
Seeing a thoroughbred Filipino ensured that small but firm steps on the road to the NBA reddened my whole being with a sense of fierce national pride. Damn, I thought I would never see the day when I could interview an NBA player who speaks my native language.
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But after the initial shock, a moment of reflection also made me wonder. For real?
All the NBA figures I interviewed at the All-Star Weekend 2020 here in Chicago, where Kai participated in the Basketball Without Borders (BWB) camp opined that the 7-foot-2 phenomenon can wear at least a year in college.
The goal, they rationalized, was to allow Kai to gain some weight and to acclimate to the physical demands that await professional ranks. Kai, it was pointed out, needs to work on his speed to avoid falling victim to lay-by-drive repeatedly.
The G-League, with all the weight of the NBA behind, provides preparatory tools. So I think it prompted the sudden change of direction for the young man.
Shams Charania de The athletic broke the news. I know Shams personally because he once asked for my advice years ago, when the Chicago Bulls wouldn’t credit him for being a minor and lacking a college diploma back then.
Ever substitute for ESPN’s Adrian “Woj Bomb” Wojnarowski on Yahoo! Sports, Shams is now one of the best in the business and has cultivated more sources than a DEA agent.
When you break something, that report is complete proof. Diligently examined, one hundred percent accurate.
Kai’s reps, however, held firm in denying the quantum leap.
“Homer, I really don’t know what this is about. The bald truth is that he hasn’t received any offers from the NBA G-League,” Patty Scott of East West Private said in a text message.
Fair enough.
So how do I reconcile two conflicting stories that come from two parties you both trust?
This is what I think is happening.
Shams is right. Kai will go to the G-League.
But EWP cannot confirm anything because the terms of the deal are probably still being worked out. And the best way to avoid a leak is to remain silent.
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As the silence grows, these questions are asking for answers.
Is Kai getting the same $ 500,000 guaranteed that Jalen Green’s agent Aaron Goodwin negotiated, or does Kai start with a base payment of $ 125,000 that was originally announced when the Select program launched in 2018?
Will Kai also be paid separately for games and appearances at sponsor events and other features during the course of the five-month G-League season?
Will Kai receive $ 200,000 that he can allocate for a college education in case this trip doesn’t work?
Do you have a shoe deal?
The fact that so many blanks remain is the reason why I resisted the temptation to write about Kai’s next move as soon as I found out.
From the countless lessons I learned as a former journalist in the 1990s, an edict continues to withstand the test of these changing times.
It is good to be the first. But it is better to be right.
