OT: The more things change ... (Sergio in Sacto)

[Nikolokolus]

http://www.sacbee.com/kings/story/2477759.html

Rodríguez not in rotation – The playing-time crunch has squeezed Sergio Rodríguez out of the Kings' rotation.

The fourth-year point guard didn't play for the fourth consecutive game Wednesday in Atlanta, with coach Paul Westphal continuing to use a three-guard rotation of Tyreke Evans, Kevin Martin and Beno Udrih.

He is merely the latest player to see a significant change in his role since Martin's Jan. 15 return, but Westphal said he simply doesn't have enough minutes to go around.

"If you give 36 minutes to Kevin and Tyreke and 24 to Beno, what's left?" he said. "It's not like I don't have confidence that Sergio can do a good job, but I think it's reasonable to kind of shoot for that (with the three-guard lineup) and then fudge it a little bit depending on the flow of the game. But unless we play those three guys together, it's hard to have any more minutes at the one or two spot."

Rodríguez, who finds himself playing less than he did last season in Portland before requesting a trade in the summer, said he knew his time would decrease but he is surprised he's not playing.

"I know Kevin is back, but I still think I could fit in the rotation," said Rodríguez, who had played only a combined 13 minutes in the three games before Martin's return.

"I'm not saying play me 40 minutes, but fit (me) into the rotation and help the team. I don't know why I'm not playing at all."

I sort of feel bad for the guy; he demands a trade and his PT and role get worse ... and on a rebuilding team no less.

I sort of wonder where he'll end up either this year before the trade deadline or next year when his rookie scale contract is up?

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

He's just not that good. Europe is his 'best fit.'

 

[Wheels]

He'll be back after Andre is done.. book it!

 

[drexlersdad]

might as well try him in dantonis system, nothing to lose

 

[Natebishop3]

Sergio is too one-dimensional. The guy can pass. That's it. In the NBA you can't be one-dimensional. Joel rebounds and defends. Brandon Roy scores and passes. Batum scores and defends. Etc etc etc. If a guy can only pass, but he can't defend or score, he isn't worth much.

 

[Boob-No-More]

I sort of feel bad for the guy; he demands a trade and his PT and role get worse ... and on a rebuilding team no less.

I sort of wonder where he'll end up either this year before the trade deadline or next year when his rookie scale contract is up?

Saw it coming a mile away, before the season even started. He's the 3rd best PG (aka: worst PG) on a bad team. He does one thing well and sucks at everything else. So much for Paul Westphal being his savior.

Unless there is a team REALLY desparate for a back-up PG, AND he is willing to sign a short term deal for the league minimum, this will be his last season in the NBA. It would be best for him to just go back to Europe and earn a good living closer to home.

BNM

 

[Rastapopoulos]

If Rodriguez had Martin's contract and vice versa, then their minutes would be similarly reversed. Martin is just as one-dimensional, and has far worse +/- numbers. Have the Kings won a game since he's back?

 

[Ed O]

If Rodriguez had Martin's contract and vice versa, then their minutes would be similarly reversed. Martin is just as one-dimensional, and has far worse +/- numbers. Have the Kings won a game since he's back?

He's not one dimensional at all. He shoots the ball well from deep. He gets to the free throw line. He steals the ball at a good clip.

He might be "one dimensional" in terms of "he can only score", but considering that one dimension is nearly half of the entire game, it's much more important than a guy who can only pass.

Ed O.

 

[andalusian]

It's a shame for Sergio, since he is such an exciting player to watch when he gets it going. Hopefully he finds a place where he can thrive.

 

[MIXUM]

you mean the people who screamed " dont trade sergio" were wrong?

sergio sucks?

no way... he can shoot, defend, finish at the rim, ideal size..... are the kings nuts?

 

[drexlersdad]

If Rodriguez had Martin's contract and vice versa, then their minutes would be similarly reversed. Martin is just as one-dimensional, and has far worse +/- numbers. Have the Kings won a game since he's back?

watch some film of martin, he gets to the rim at will. if sergio was getting 10 million a year....

 

[Boob-No-More]

It's a shame for Sergio, since he is such an exciting player to watch when he gets it going. Hopefully he finds a place where he can thrive.

That place is Europe - and even then, it depends on how you define "thrive".

BNM

 

[andalusian]

That place is Europe - and even then, it depends on how you define "thrive".

Would not mind seeing him in GSW as well - where running full speed and not wondering about defense is expected.

 

[Boob-No-More]

If Rodriguez had Martin's contract and vice versa, then their minutes would be similarly reversed. Martin is just as one-dimensional, and has far worse +/- numbers. Have the Kings won a game since he's back?

If Sergio had Martin's contract, the Maloofs who be looking for someone to plant guns in his locker in hopes of voinding his contract.

If Martin had Sergio's contract, he'd be one of the biggest bargains in the league. Martin is averaging 25.2 PPG with a PER of 22.4. If that's one dimensional, I think most teams would be happy to have that one dimension.

Martin has only been back for four games. Yes, the Kings have lost all four. All four have also been on the road where the Kings are now 3-17. Prior to Martin's return the Kings had lost 6 of 7 games (five of those were at home). So, it's not like Martin is making them worse.

BNM

 

[Boob-No-More]

Would not mind seeing him in GSW as well - where running full speed and not wondering about defense is expected.

Nellie does tend to like guys who can put he ball in the basket. That elminates Sergio. He'd be rotting away there, too behind Monta Ellis and Steph Curry (who can both put the ball in the basket a lot better than Sergio).

BNM

 

[STOMP]

Nellie does tend to like guys who can put he ball in the basket. That elminates Sergio. He'd be rotting away there, too behind Monta Ellis and Steph Curry (who can both put the ball in the basket a lot better than Sergio).

no

the Warriors are so injury decimated that they have 3 D leaguers on board to meet the league minimum of 8 players. Ellis played all 53 minutes of last night's overtime loss to the Nuggets and Curry played 49. Since the W's don't currently have a single healthy guard on their roster after those two I'd guess that Nellie would have given SR some run

STOMP

 

[Minstrel]

Sergio has a tough time fitting in because there's no system or coach with an expressed preference for passing specialists who can literally do nothing else. D'Antoni and Nelson both want shooting from their guards (and big men, for that matter). Most coaches want defense along with the passing. It's really hard to justify playing a guy who can only pass the ball, because his inability to do anything else on offense makes it much easier for the defense to take away his one tool. And he's simultaneously hurting his team on defense.

He's the equivalent of an all-glove, no-bat shortstop in baseball. He does one thing really well and looks good doing it...but it's not enough to carry a starter's spot and maybe not even a roster spot.

 

[MickZagger]

you mean the people who screamed " dont trade sergio" were wrong?

sergio sucks?

no way... he can shoot, defend, finish at the rim, ideal size..... are the kings nuts?

Now that he's gone. You were saying we should trade Sergio last year. More proof that your *edited* who's sole purpose is to annoy the fuck out of serious posters.

 

[MARIS61]

Martin's on the block, and when he's gone (for a big) Sergio will be back in.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Martin's on the block, and when he's gone (for a big) Sergio will be back in.

In what?

He'll still be behind Evans and Udrih. It wasn't like he was getting big minutes before Martin returned. He's played a total of 46 minutes this month - compared to 343 minutes for Evans and 292 minutes for Udrih. Barring an injury, or a trade involving Udrih (the Kings aren't trading Evans), Sergio won't be cracking that rotation any time soon.

BNM

 

[Nikolokolus]

Now that he's gone. You were saying we should trade Sergio last year. More proof that your *edited* who's sole purpose is to annoy the fuck out of serious posters.

You need to re-read MIXUM's post ... look for the sneering sarcasm this time.

 

[Natebishop3]

Man, if we could get Kevin Martin I would be psyched. They need a big? Think they would accept Przybilla? I would gladly send them one of our small forwards and Joel AND, get this, Steve Blake, for Kevin Martin

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yfs7n3h

We end up with

Miller/Bayless/Mills
Roy/Rudy
Martin/Batum/Nocioni
LMA/Pendergraph/Nocioni
Howard/Oden

 

[rocketeer]

If Rodriguez had Martin's contract and vice versa, then their minutes would be similarly reversed.

that may be true of beno udrih, but it's not true of kevin martin.

 

[rocketeer]

no

the Warriors are so injury decimated that they have 3 D leaguers on board to meet the league minimum of 8 players. Ellis played all 53 minutes of last night's overtime loss to the Nuggets and Curry played 49. Since the W's don't currently have a single healthy guard on their roster after those two I'd guess that Nellie would have given SR some run

STOMP

so he'd get some minutes right now because everyone else was hurt and then go back to the bench when they got relatively healthy. same thing happened with the kings. now that they got healthy, he's back to the bench.

 

[Boob-No-More]

Man, if we could get Kevin Martin I would be psyched. They need a big? Think they would accept Przybilla? I would gladly send them one of our small forwards and Joel AND, get this, Steve Blake, for Kevin Martin

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yfs7n3h

We end up with...

And they end up with a severely injured center and a 4th PG. They're not going to send us their best player for our rejects. Even if Joel was healthy, I doubt if they'd do it. With him out for the season, not a chance.

Also, where would we play Martin? He plays the same position as Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless (half the time). We already have a logjam and shortage of minutes for our guards. Adding Martin just makes that worse.

BNM

 

[Natebishop3]

And they end up with a severely injured center and a 4th PG. They're not going to send us their best player for our rejects. Even if Joel was healthy, I doubt if they'd do it. With him out for the season, not a chance.

Also, where would we play Martin? He plays the same position as Brandon Roy, Rudy Fernandez and Jerryd Bayless (half the time). We already have a logjam and shortage of minutes for our guards. Adding Martin just makes that worse.

BNM

He's 6'7... you don't think he could play small forward? I know he's pretty thin, but it's a far cry from Steve Blake or even Rudy.

I was just looking at Blake and Outlaw removing Nocioni's contract, and then Webster/Przybilla playing in their rotation.

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Guess who leads the Kings in +/-? I'm actually surprised that Martin isn't their worst minus player. But he is worst per minute of all of their rotation players.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Guess who leads the Kings in +/-? I'm actually surprised that Martin isn't their worst minus player. But he is worst per minute of all of their rotation players.

unadjusted plus-minus is a lot 'noisier' than adjusted plus-minus, and even adjusted needs more of a sample size than what Sergio has been able to produce to be meaningful.

 

[Nikolokolus]

He's 6'7... you don't think he could play small forward? I know he's pretty thin, but it's a far cry from Steve Blake or even Rudy.

I was just looking at Blake and Outlaw removing Nocioni's contract, and then Webster/Przybilla playing in their rotation.

I don't think he could play small forward for this team Nate demands defense from that position and Martin might be the worst defensive wing in the league.

 

[Nikolokolus]

that may be true of beno udrih, but it's not true of kevin martin.

I dunno, Udrih seems to be finally living up to his deal. 50% from the floor, 40% from three, 85% from the stripe, a decent number of assists at 4 playing off of Evans and a low turnover rate ... Sergio just isn't better than the guys in front of him.

I will say that doesn't make Sergio terrible; I've been very impressed with his ability to finally play efficiently, and his shooting is even no longer a total embarrassment ... defense on the other hand? meh.