2021 draft prospect Kai Sotto

[SpurSpike]

I know its early to talk about 2021 draft but it's slow here and i ran across this article on PTR about this dude Kai Sotto. He looks legit and wants to be a Spur. Says he models his game after Tim and you can see it in the way he plays. Hell even his facial expressions when playing reminds me of Tim, just a blank look on his face before he schools his opponent. Lets his game do the talking. He could be like a Porzingis(big that can play like a guard)/Jokic(not selfish, can find teammates)/Tim(mentality, fundamental post game) hybrid.

Its early but currently he is projected as a late 1st round pick which is around where the Spurs usually draft. (this is the 2021 draft, NOT the 2020 draft!) He opted to go straight to the g league and was placed on the Ignite team which is a new team developed for elite prospects to enter the draft without going to college.

Here are some articles if anyone is interested, has a few tapes of him playing.

https://www.poundingtherock.com/2020/9/5/21423643/philippines-phenom-kai-sotto-models-his-game-after-tim-duncan-wants-to-be-a-spur

https://www.netsdaily.com/2020/9/2/21418823/kai-sotto-the-filipino-hoops-hope-who-wants-to-be-tim-duncan

Only thing I worry about is him getting too tall lol. He just turned 18 in May and is 7'1" or 7'2" (depending on where you get info from) and still growing!

I don't watch a lot of draftees and i don't claim to be a good talent evaluator but i was impressed by this kid, what do ya'll think?

[Dejounte]

From the little I've seen, he didnt flash any moves that made me go "wow". I got an impression that he was soft and played a little bit like Yao Ming. All the filipino bandwagoners would probably be behind him and support the Spurs instead of the Lakers right now.

I wouldn't be surprised if Kai Sotto was a poster on this board since he sounds like a huge Spurs fan.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

That woman guarding him in the pic in the PTR article looks pretty tough and has Kawhi-esque hands it appears. I'd suggest we use a 2nd rounder on ClawII.

[NickiRasgo]

Fellow countrymen but no thanks unless it's a camp invite or something. 2nd round pick is fine but depends how low. I'm not high on him for now.

[BackHome]

For me:

Evan Mobley 6'11 Center
Jalen Suggs 6'5 Pg
Jalen Johnson 6'8 SG/SF

[KobesAchilles]

I rather draft Manny Pacquiao tbh

[ZeusWillJudge]

He said his dad played pro ball and taught him everything. "We always started with stuff like footwork, how to make easy shots."

A lot of people will laugh at that, but it's a really big deal. Most bigs, especially these days, just toss bunnies in the direction of the hoop, instead of focusing and making sure to make the easy ones. There would be more of a place for big men in the league, if more of them were worth a shit.

One of the people talking said that he's listed at 6'10" or so, but he's really more like 7'2" or 7'3". I can't tell if he's really that tall. If he is, he's really pretty fluid. Most guys that tall move like Frankenstein, because of the leverage moving legs that long. I've seen him look comfortable shooting with both hands. He's thin, but not as rail-thin as a lot of those pictures of Pokusevski. We'll see what he's made of in his year in the G-League.

[dbestpro]

I know this will sound crazy to many of you, but two things I would ask Sotto to do, is practice shadow kickboxing to improve his foot speed and learn to juggle to improve his reaction times.

[ZeusWillJudge]

Were the tapes in Slow Motion?


I can count on 1 finger the number of asian good above average nba players and that dude don't belong in todays nba.


LOL. How many fingers do you need to count the number of current 18 year-olds that belong in today's NBA. :lol


I'd bet a month's beer money that you don't know what Ignite is, based on the way you're talking. They selected some top prospects at each position, and most of them elected to forego their college eligibility to join. Unlike G-League players, they can be paid up to $500K. They were all specifically selected because they are expected to succeed. They may or may not, but legit scouts have high expectations for them.

You might want to check out Jonathan Kuminga while you're doing your Google search on Ignite.

[ZeusWillJudge]

Just for the record, I haven't mentioned Kuminga because he's not eligible this year. But I was back east, and a friend called and said I had to meet him at this high school basketball game. He's just freaking amazing. I'm telling you now - if he improves his 3P shooting (and I think he will), he could be a non-autistic Kawhi. Watch for him this year. I think he'll be the guy teams are tanking for next draft.

He's going to be playing with Ignite because he believes it will do him more good than a year against college players.

[Sugus]

ZeusWillJudge (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=54031) a pocked marked pizza faced skinny fat dude playing with his trains

I understand you dudes and eyetest but to bring up some podunk league as proof this Buffoon Lummox who fell off a beanstock in the Philippians is a person who belongs in the NBA on any level .....

I want this plastered on a t-shirt, tbh. Absolute poetry :lol

[FireMicoHalili]

Ok, Yoa Ming and WHO else of asian decent has made an all star team or all NBA team, did Linsanity make a NBA team you Doink? LOL do the google searching because we all know from your post you're a google smart 2k serg too. ZeusWillJudge (https://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=54031) a pocked marked pizza faced skinny fat dude playing with his trains

I understand you dudes and eyetest but to bring up some podunk league as proof this Buffoon Lummox who fell off a beanstock in the Philippians is a person who belongs in the NBA on any level .....


LOL


I can count on 1 finger the number of good asian NBA stars.....


oh if you don't know I'm flipping that one finger at you right now....
so it's All-NBA Team or bust?

of Asian descent: Mehmet Okur, Hedo Turkoglu, Omer Asik, Omri Casspi, Enes Kanter, Furkan Korkmaz, Cedi Osman, Rui Hachimura. Deni Avdija is about to be drafted in the first round of this year's draft. I get the track record isn't that stellar but there have been decent NBA players from Asia. Asians deserve a fair shake at the NBA at least.

If you have time (which I assume you have a lot of since you can cuss people here), go read: https://www.netsdaily.com/2017/3/14/14925994/morey-bias-played-a-role-in-lin-not-being-drafted

[FireMicoHalili]

I'm embarrassed for you. You semantical nerd. LOL. At least we know you were eating a bowl of rice while squatting in a hut when you wrote this.
ahhh ikaw yung dapat pinutok na lang sa kumot ng tatay mo. oks. siguro pinanganak ka sa pwet ng nanay mo. butt baby :lol

[BWS-1994]

ahhh ikaw yung dapat pinutok na lang sa kumot ng tatay mo. oks. siguro pinanganak ka sa pwet ng nanay mo. butt baby :lol

:lol

[RC_Drunkford]

Apa get in here

[ZeusWillJudge]

I understand you dudes and eyetest but to bring up some podunk league as proof this Buffoon Lummox who fell off a beanstock [bean stalk. He fell off a beanstalk, not a beanstock ZWJ] in the Philippians is a person who belongs in the NBA on any level .....

Translation: "I honestly never heard of Ignite before this, so I need to deflect."




To quote one of my favorite Animal House lines: "Fat, lazy, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."


For those of you who don't want to go through life fat, lazy, and stupid, this is what the NBA Ignite is about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_G_League_Ignite They chose some of the best recruits at each position, and gave them real money to play ball and learn the game like professionals, from professionals. It's basically an under-age all-star team. I think they realized that more guys like LaMelo Ball were starting to go play overseas, since they aren't NBA-eligible. Better to have them here, rather than risk losing years of their careers overseas.

The NBA obviously has international aspirations, so I'm sure it's no accident that Ignite has an international look. So those of you who still believe that the only players who really belong in the NBA have to have round eyes, and bleed red-white-and-blue, you probably shouldn't bother watching any Ignite games this year. The rest of you should make a point of catching a few games, just to see Jonathan Kuminga play. I don't know about Sotto, but Kuminga is going to be a lottery pick next year. If he works this year, he's got a good chance of being the #1 pick. Jalen Green (also Filipino) has a good chance to be a lottery pick next year, too.

[Seventyniner]

To quote one of my favorite Animal House lines: "Fat, lazy, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."


For those of you who don't want to go through life fat, lazy, and stupid, this is what the NBA Ignite is about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_G_League_Ignite They chose some of the best recruits at each position, and gave them real money to play ball and learn the game like professionals, from professionals. It's basically an under-age all-star team. I think they realized that more guys like LaMelo Ball were starting to go play overseas, since they aren't NBA-eligible. Better to have them here, rather than risk losing years of their careers overseas.

The NBA obviously has international aspirations, so I'm sure it's no accident that Ignite has an international look. So those of you who still believe that the only players who really belong in the NBA have to have round eyes, and bleed red-white-and-blue, you probably shouldn't bother watching any Ignite games this year. The rest of you should make a point of catching a few games, just to see Jonathan Kuminga play. I don't know about Sotto, but Kuminga is going to be a lottery pick next year. If he works this year, he's got a good chance of being the #1 pick. Jalen Green (also Filipino) has a good chance to be a lottery pick next year, too.

Once one-and-done goes away, what would be the purpose of a team like the Ignite? Provide an alternative to college ball for HS graduating prospects who don't want to enter the draft yet?

[BackHome]

To quote one of my favorite Animal House lines: "Fat, lazy, and stupid is no way to go through life, son."


For those of you who don't want to go through life fat, lazy, and stupid, this is what the NBA Ignite is about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_G_League_Ignite They chose some of the best recruits at each position, and gave them real money to play ball and learn the game like professionals, from professionals. It's basically an under-age all-star team. I think they realized that more guys like LaMelo Ball were starting to go play overseas, since they aren't NBA-eligible. Better to have them here, rather than risk losing years of their careers overseas.

The NBA obviously has international aspirations, so I'm sure it's no accident that Ignite has an international look. So those of you who still believe that the only players who really belong in the NBA have to have round eyes, and bleed red-white-and-blue, you probably shouldn't bother watching any Ignite games this year. The rest of you should make a point of catching a few games, just to see Jonathan Kuminga play. I don't know about Sotto, but Kuminga is going to be a lottery pick next year. If he works this year, he's got a good chance of being the #1 pick. Jalen Green (also Filipino) has a good chance to be a lottery pick next year, too.

Will have to check it out and I agree with you I think the two kids above will both go before the 5th pick in 2021 draft which is insanely loaded. I am all in the Tanking camp just jump on the train :lma

[jbspurs]

ahhh ikaw yung dapat pinutok na lang sa kumot ng tatay mo. oks. siguro pinanganak ka sa pwet ng nanay mo. butt baby :lol

:lol

[John B]

And for the 41st pick, I’d go for this kid Kai Sotto a 19 yr old, 7-2 center from the Philippines. He opted out of the Ignite team to lead the Philippines national team in FIBA qualifier. This boy can rebound, block, shoot from outside and can dribble coast-to-coast. His idol? Timmy.

[ginobilized]

And for the 41st pick, I’d go for this kid Kai Sotto a 19 yr old, 7-2 center from the Philippines. He opted out of the Ignite team to lead the Philippines national team in FIBA qualifier. This boy can rebound, block, shoot from outside and can dribble coast-to-coast. His idol? Timmy.

I agree with the intrigue here. But, dude, boy is probably not the proper nomenclature.

[BWS-1994]

Huh? I thought he was wligible for next year?

Last I heard, he’ll be playing in Australia.

[Chinook]

Ryan Richards 2.0?

[John B]

Huh? I thought he was wligible for next year?

Last I heard, he’ll be playing in Australia.

You maybe right: Kai Sotto — a 7-foot-2 prospect from the Philippines — is signing a multi-year deal with the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Sotto, who joined the G League Ignite roster this season, will be NBA Draft-eigible starting 2022. — Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 21, 2021

[R. DeMurre]

If you're ever bored, check out the Philippine Basketball League on youtube. The games are cool, and the teams have great names like the San Miguel Beermen and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.


(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_or_Shine_Elasto_Painters)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine_Basketball_Association

[John B]

Kai Sotto 19 yrs old 7’3” (7’2” last year) 7’5” wingspan, will be entering the 2022 draft. Currently in Australia for the past few months as he prepares to raise his draft stock for the NBA with the Adelaide 36ers in the NBL. If taken in this draft, Kai will be the 1st full-blooded Filipino in the NBA. Currently NBA players with Filipino blood, Jordan Clarkson (Filipino mom) and Jalen Green (Filipino mom).


https://youtube.com/shorts/HuA449Mmmv0?feature=share

[CGD]

DET pick candidate

[John B]

Hoping the Spurs will pick him up in the 2nd round if he’s available. His favorite player is Timmy and has previously said that he wanted to be a Spur.

[NickiRasgo]

Ew no and this is coming from a fellow countrymen - I'm wishing best for him tho but for me, he's only worth to sign as undrafted.

He has the tools but he doesn't have the mental of being competitor (NBA level) to compensate his lacking - athleticism, mobility, strength, consistent shooting.
He's yet to be atleast a force or one of the top contributor in the team (offensively/defensively) to the leagues he have played since moving overseas.

[BackHome]

What are your thoughts on Taran Armstrong?

[John B]

Ew no and this is coming from a fellow countrymen - I'm wishing best for him tho but for me, he's only worth to sign as undrafted.

He has the tools but he doesn't have the mental of being competitor (NBA level) to compensate his lacking - athleticism, mobility, strength, consistent shooting.
He's yet to be atleast a force or one of the top contributor in the team (offensively/defensively) to the leagues he have played since moving overseas.

Not even for a 2nd round? 19 yrs old 7’3 with 7’5” wingspan, who can shoot outside, can rebound and deflect, moves great for his height, not lanky or slow. Granted our 2nd round pick is high, but Kai Sotto could be a great project big.


https://youtu.be/HcXuCT09gXI

[RC_Drunkford]

he averages about half the stats that Jock Landale was putting up in the NBL while playing about half the minutes. Might work, might not. Taking a chance with a 2nd is a low risk.

[John B]

he averages about half the stats that Jock Landale was putting up in the NBL while playing about half the minutes. Might work, might not. Taking a chance with a 2nd is a low risk.

The thing I don’t see is how he switch and close on the perimeter, which is modern NBA. I don’t know how players like Eaton could play today

[D-Robinson 50 fan]

Nah

[NickiRasgo]

Not even for a 2nd round? 19 yrs old 7’3 with 7’5” wingspan, who can shoot outside, can rebound and deflect, moves great for his height, not lanky or slow. Granted our 2nd round pick is high, but Kai Sotto could be a great project big.


https://youtu.be/HcXuCT09gXI

Yup. Tools is there but the main issue for me is his competitive attitude and the feel of the game. Sure I'm asking too much for a 2nd round pick but I believe there are more better prospect than him in 2nd round.
And can he handle the pressure? Imagine the weigh he'll have - if ever, he'll become the first pure Filipino basketball to ever drafted and will play (assuming he'll give a chance) in the NBA.
Knowing Filipino fans, he'll need a little room of mistake as he'll be criticized badly - not having minutes / being benched, play poorly, etc.

I used to be fascinated with measurements but nowadays, what's important for me now esp. how the NBA is being played is the competitive attitude and the feel of the game unless you'll have someone like Giannis, Kawhi, etc.

[John B]

Yup. Tools is there but the main issue for me is his competitive attitude and the feel of the game. Sure I'm asking too much for a 2nd round pick but I believe there are more better prospect than him in 2nd round.
And can he handle the pressure? Imagine the weigh he'll have - if ever, he'll become the first pure Filipino basketball to ever drafted and will play (assuming he'll give a chance) in the NBA.
Knowing Filipino fans, he'll need a little room of mistake as he'll be criticized badly - not having minutes / being benched, play poorly, etc.

I used to be fascinated with measurements but nowadays, what's important for me now esp. how the NBA is being played is the competitive attitude and the feel of the game unless you'll have someone like Giannis, Kawhi, etc.

10 years ago, he’s a cinch to get in with his side. My concern is, and I haven’t seen it, is his ability to cover the perimeter. I think he is a competitor as he’s out there in the NBL, trying to improve. He is only 19 and still has tons to learn. I think he’ll make it if not in the 2nd round, someone will pick him up. His size is intriguing.