Believe it or not, the NBA isn’t the be all and end all for every basketball player. Not everybody wants to go to America and play in the NBA. You and I may see stories like these and go “How do you not want to go to the NBA? What’s wrong with you?”
But not everybody is Kristaps Porzingis. Especially Real Madrid’s Sergio Llull who is staying in Spain and not going to play for the Houston Rockets.
Real Madrid made a superior financial offer to the Rockets, sources said.
The Rockets have rights for Llull – one of Europe’s top guards – and had been negotiating a deal with him.
For the Rockets, Llull’s choice to stay in Europe makes the need to retain restricted free-agent guard Patrick Beverley even more important.
Llull, 27, has been starring in the Spanish ACB League. A versatile 6-foot-3, Llull averaged 12 points and three assists for Real Madrid.
Llull was actually drafted back in 2009 by the Denver Nuggets, but the Rockets traded for Draft rights. But when you’re a player of Sergio’s calibre, why would Real Madrid let him go? The European leagues aren’t a farm system for the NBA, they can do whatever they please.
