After spending four years in the NBA earlier in his career, Sergio Rodriguez returned to Europe for most of his 20s, playing for Spanish club Real Madrid from 2010/11 to 2015/16. Now, having returned stateside for the 2016/17 season, the veteran guard has no plans to head back to Europe again in the near future, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando details.
“I am very happy here. I want to stay in the NBA for several years and I think I have chances,” Rodriguez told Marca, in Spanish. “My first [choice] is to remain here and play in the NBA for more years. I don’t know if [it will be] in the same situation or in another one. But I want to remain in the NBA and compete against the best players in the world.”
Rodriguez began the 2016/17 season as Philadelphia’s starting point guard, but has since ceded that role to T.J. McConnell. For the season, Rodriguez has appeared in 61 total games (30 starts), averaging 7.7 PPG and 5.1 APG, while making 35.8% of his three-pointers.
When Rodriguez caught on with the Sixers for this season, he signed a one-year contract, giving him the flexibility to choose a new destination again in the summer of 2017. Presumably, Rodriguez prioritized playing time over contending for a title when he chose Philadelphia last year, but even if he heads into his free agency this year with the same mindset, he may not return to the Sixers.
Given McConnell’s emergence, the Sixers’ plan to try Ben Simmons at point guard, and the possibility that the club will add another point guard via the draft or free agency, there may not be many minutes left over for Rodriguez in Philadelphia next season. However, he could end up drawing some interest from other teams in need of a veteran backup at the point.
Teams like the Hornets, Pelicans, Knicks should go after him depending if he’ll play as a backup(Charlotte), depending on Holiday/Rose(Pelicans and Knicks). All three teams course definetly use Jim
Him
Sergio got $9M because the Sixers had no better options. He was beat out by a guy one of the worst teams in league history hopes to be their third point guard behind Ben Simmons and a 2017 draftee, a guy who only shoots 20% from 3pt. The idea that every scrub who shoots over 33% from 3pt is an NBA player is way overblown. See Isaiah Canaan.