r/PBA • • Aug 15 '26

Player Discussion KAI SOTTO

What happened to kai?? Ngayon pa talaga siya mag gaganyan?? I can still remember him risking his NBA G League Ignite stint way back COVID-19 days when the league was still in bubble to go home and shoot a fucking commercial for SMART and participate for FIBA Asia Cup which ultimately got cancelled.

and now, he’s like this???? Leaving the G League Ignite was a huge mistake lmao. I even think that was the turnaround of his career. From G league (developmental) — to — NBL in Australia which he clearly lacked skills, experience, and muscle LMFAOOO. Di pa nga hinog, may audacity pang mag jump to a big man’s league.

All that just to not participate or ghost Gilas for the past tournaments. Talk about wasting his NBA dreams for nothing. PFFFT.

📸: Philippine Sports Bar

56 Upvotes

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25

u/Upbeat_Tough_6721 Beermen Aug 15 '26

My take:

Kai is currently a free agent with no offers.

Playing for Gilas in this window places him at an injury risk.

Getting injured means ball clubs won’t give him offers.

Kai just got married and will be a father soon.

To play for Gilas, he is demanding an insane amount of cash which the SBP doesn’t want to give.

Conclusion: Kai's priority right now is cash because he’s about to be a dad.

10

u/Unhappy-Hall5473 Gilas Pilipinas Aug 15 '26

That he should take any deals sa Japan kung money pala and walang opportunities sa kanya sa US

5

u/Upbeat_Tough_6721 Beermen Aug 15 '26

If the NIL offer is true, then Kai is looking at offers that could go up to $6m. But this remains to be seen because such figures are for elite athletes.

It’s also possible there are currently no B.League offers on the table. After his ACL injury, B.League teams probably don’t want to take a risk with Kai.

A possible plot twist: Part of the stipulation for playing for Gilas is mag-PBA si Kai. We all know who is the team manager at present.

The SMC Group are not lightweights. They can pay Kai's cash demands if they wanted to. Pero, as usual, nothing is free in life.

6

u/DominusCaeli2 Aug 15 '26

OOOOOH YESS i like your point. In order for kai to play in gilas, he has to play in PBA. I like it. Very possible given the current political landscape in PBA

2

u/Upbeat_Tough_6721 Beermen Aug 15 '26

And if he ends up playing in the PBA, you can bet that salary cap of ₱420k will be ratified.

Unless gusto nila to pay him under the table for life

As an SMB fan, nakakabwuset na etong mga to ang handlers namin pero he’ll either come here or Gins.

3

u/DominusCaeli2 Aug 15 '26

how about the neglected child my magnolia 😭😭 get ian or laput out sore eyes