The most expensive second-round draft rights ever purchased are likely to remain just that for at least one more season.
Spanish guard Sergio Llull, largely considered to be one of the best players currently playing outside of the NBA, is fresh off a 2015 Euroleague championship with Real Madrid and on the path to a Spanish ACB league title, too. Given that level of success in his native country, it perhaps shouldn't be surprising that Llull isn't very focused on a potential jump to the NBA.
"The NBA is there but I do not lose sleep," Llull said this week, as translated from Spanish by theScore. "I want to keep winning titles and I'm in the best possible place to do that."
Llull was the No. 34 overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft, and the Houston Rockets quickly swooped in to purchase his draft rights from the Denver Nuggets for $2.25 million.
The Rockets could use help at the point this offseason, and luring Llull stateside seems an obvious way to do that, were he open to the idea. His deal with Real Madrid runs through the 2017-18 season - it's unclear what his NBA buyout may be, if one exists - and at age 27, the clock is ticking on an NBA career.
Over eight seasons with Real Madrid, Llull has appeared in 149 games, averaging 9.4 points and 3.3 assists in 24.2 minutes while knocking down 35.2 percent of his 3-point attempts.
He's also impressed on the international stage, though his role hasn't always been a large one thanks to Spain's point guard depth. That's something that will be tested at FIBA Eurobasket 2015 in September, with Spain short Jose Calderon and Ricky Rubio as they look to qualify for the 2016 Olympics.
