LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 10: Sergio Rodriguez of Real Madrid celebrates victory during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four semi final game between FC Barcelona Regan and Real Madrid at the O2 Arena on May 10, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
The Philadelphia 76ers signed veteran Spanish point guard Sergio Rodriguez to a one-year, $8 million deal on Monday.
Shams Charania, who writes for Yahoo’s The Vertical, first reported the news:
This came just three days after Milwaukee Bucks point guard Jerryd Bayless agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal with Philadelphia. It also came on the same day the Golden State Warriors signed Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, a deal that dominated NBA news on Independence Day. Thursday is the first day that free agents can officially sign contracts.
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Playing in all competitions for Real Madrid (Euroleague, Spanish ACB) in 2015-16, Rodriguez averaged 10.8 points and 5.9 assists per game on 48 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from three.
Prior to that, Rodriguez, 30, played in the NBA for the Portland Trail Blazers, the Sacramento Kings and the New York Knicks from 2006 to 2010. He was selected by the Phoenix Suns as the 27th overall pick in the 2006 NBA Draft, but was immediately traded to the Trail Blazers.
Since then, he was named Euroleague MVP in 2014 and won the Euroleague title with Real Madrid, whom he joined in 2010, in 2015.
He averaged 4.3 points and 2.9 assists and 13.2 minutes during his four NBA seasons.
His most productive time came with the Knicks. Rodriguez averaged 7.4 points and 3.4 assists while shooting 54 percent from the field in 27 games. He started eight of those games.
With just a one-year deal, Rodriguez appears to be a stop-gap option until next summer, when fellow point guards Stephen Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry are scheduled to become free agents.
Many seem to believe it would make most sense for the Sixers to go after Lowry.
The Toronto Raptors guard and two-time NBA All-Star is a Philadelphia native, a former Villanova standout and a close friend of Bryan Colangelo, the Sixers’ new president of basketball operations. As the president of the Raptors, Colangelo acquired Lowry in a trade from the Houston Rockets on July 11, 2012.
For now, the Sixers added Rodriguez and Bayless to a point guard group that includes T.J. McConnell and seldom-used Kendall Marshall, who is far from guaranteed to make the team.
Also on Monday, Washington Wizards point guard Ramon Sessions agreed to a two-year, $12.5 million deal to play for the Charlotte Hornets. Sessions received interest from the Sixers, but they didn’t make him an offer.
LONDON, ENGLAND – MAY 10: Sergio Rodriguez of Real Madrid celebrates victory during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four semi final game between FC Barcelona Regan and Real Madrid at the O2 Arena on May 10, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)
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