SALT LAKE CITY _ So far the Philadelphia 76ers' free-agent acquisitions haven't caused the big splash that some followers are hoping for.
Call them little ripples as the Sixers made their second move Monday by securing veteran point guard Sergio Rodriguez to a one-year, $8 million deal. That came three days after point guard Jerryd Bayless agreed to a three-year, $27 million deal.
Thursday is the first day that free agents can sign contracts.
With just a one-year deal, Rodriguez, 30, appears to be a stop-gap option until next summer, when elite point guards Steph Curry, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry are scheduled to become free agents.
It would make sense for the Sixers to go hard after Lowry. The 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 Toronto 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.
Rodriguez is a veteran who knows how to run an offense and get teammates in position, and he is likely to help the young Sixers until they come up with a legitimate starter at point guard.
Rodriguez played the last five seasons for Real Madrid. The 6-foot-3, 180-pounder averaged 10.8 points, 5.8 assists and 2.3 turnovers in 24 minutes per game last season. He shot 46 percent from the field and 38 percent on three-pointers.
The Phoenix Suns selected Rodriguez with the 27th overall pick of the 2006 draft before trading him to the Portland Trail Blazers on draft night. He played three seasons in Portland before being shipped to the Sacramento Kings on June 25, 2009. Then he was traded to New York Knicks on Feb. 18, 2010. Rodriguez returned to Spain after that season.
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.
Also on Monday, Ramon Sessions agreed to a two-year, $12.5 million deal to play for the Charlotte Hornets. The point guard received interest from the Sixers, but they didn't make him an offer.
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