"He maybe kind of sort of THINKS someone on the team is involved". That phrase I saw in a TV series. My question is why the verb THINK doesn't go in gerun? I suposed if a verb is after a presposition(in this case is OF) it has to be in gerund.

Another question: I can see that the expression "kind of sort of" is a tipical phrase. Have that expression have a sinonimous(but with less words)?

Thanks in advance