Report: Real Madrid fighting to keep Sergio Rodriguez in Spain

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Sergio Rodriguez's hopes of an NBA return exist in direct contrast to those of Real Madrid, the team with which he just won a Spanish ACB league title.

While Rodriguez expressed confidence in mid-June that the reasonable buyout on the final three years of his contract with Real Madrid wouldn't be an impediment, the Spanish champions aren't letting their point guard walk easily.

Rodriguez had conversations with a Western Conference team, according to international reporter David Pick, and other international teams have inquired, but Real Madrid is holding firm. NBA teams can contribute up to $625,000 toward a buyout without that contribution counting against the salary cap, but with so few teams owning cap space this late in the summer, it's unclear if any teams would be willing to incur a cap hit to spend more on a buyout.

The draw of bringing Rodriguez stateside is obvious. The No. 27 pick in the 2006 draft was a solid backup in his four NBA seasons and has since developed into one of the best players outside the U.S., earning Euroleague MVP honors in 2014 and helping lead Spain to a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics.

In 71 games with Madrid this season, he averaged 10.6 points and 5.2 assists while knocking down 39.4 percent of his threes. The outside stroke is a new and potentially game-changing skill for him, as he shot 31.6 percent from outside in his NBA career. Still just 29, the 6-foot-3 playmaker would slot in immediately as a backup point guard on most teams.