Sergio Rodriguez

Sergio Rodriguez
PG, 6’3, 176lbs, 31 years old, 5 years of experience

His NBA redux felt like a case of wrong team, wrong time. Injuries didn’t help, yet as a man who ascended to the top of the Euroleague through a strong understand of the pick-and-roll game, along with a creativity and steadiness to his floor game and a love of transition, Rodriguez needs to be on the ball, pushing it, taking screens and making defences shift. Not overdribbling, going nowhere, having little movement around him, watching Okafor try to do his thing (the pair had an enormous net -19.6 as a two-man unit in 486 minutes; compare with that of Holmes, an actual pick-and-roll player, whose field goal percentage jumped 12 points with Rodriguez finding him) and having few shooters to kick to. Rodriguez can play in the NBA today, an improved player since his Portland days who no longer struggles from the three-point line. But the 2016/17 Sixers were not the team to maximize that. Next year’s? Maybe. But he might have gone back to Spain by then. And with Fultz coming in, there’s no place for him either.

Player Plan: Expiring $8 million salary. Although he could be of some help to both the team and Fultz, even after a relatively poor year prior, McConnell with lashings of Bayless can handle the spot. Probably best served going back to Real.

Messina left behind some talent, much of which he brought in. Argentine veteran point guard Pablo Prigioni is still in place, although his skills are starting to slip. As he ages and slows, Prigioni's famously great defense is fading, and his ability to get to the basket and create his own shot is largely gone too. The current version of Prigioni is thus rather limited; a good outside shooter, good playmaker, pass-first leader point guard with incredibly low turnover numbers, but who is no longer a threat to do much in (or get within) the paint, and who can be exposed by speedy opponents. Behind him, Sergio Rodriguez - in his first season back in Spain after his four years in the NBA - was having a decent season, albeit with rather high turnover numbers and poor outside shooting. However, he has suffered a thigh injury and will miss a month, including the whole quarter finals series. That places a point guard burden on Sergio Llull. And while Llull is awesome - arguably the most athletic non-American guard outside of the USA, with plenty of flair, passing, transition finishes and threes - he is not a point guard, even if he is 6'3. With Rodriguez injured and Prigioni ageing, though, he's going to now have to be, so maybe the experience will help him grow at the position.

It is customary for players to sign for 120% of the scale. In all the years I have done this [not including this year; more on that later], I only known of four players that haven't; Sergio Rodriguez (signed for 100%), George Hill (signed for 120% for the first two years, then 80% for the final two), Donte Greene (signed an incentive laden contract that he hasn't yet got up to 120%) and Ian Mahinmi (all over the show). More specifically, as mentioned above, it is customary for players to sign for a guaranteed 100% of the scale, whilst earning the last 20% in incentives.