Sergio Rodriguez out of rotation

As you may know, Sergio is in a bit of a situation. Don't be mad at him, its not his fault the local fans and media went insane. I tried to document some of the Sergio hysteria here. Now, via TrueHoop, a Jason Quick article pops up that would be shocking if you've never been to this blog. Nate McMillan sings the praises of Taurean Green, and explains that Sergio is out of the rotation:

"He's out (of the rotation),'' McMillan said of Rodriguez. "Right now, he is. He's going to have to play his way in, and that's going to be hard to do unless Blake or Jack just dog it, which I don't think will happen.''

Sounds good to me. I joined (or started?) the trade Sergio band wagon when Portland signed Steve Blake (although that was mostly fueled by my paranoia of losing Jack, my low-faith in Sergio played a part). I know waiting is probably the smartest option for now, but with Rudy Fernandez expected to arrive next season it would seem something will have to be done to free up a guard spot. Will Sergio's trade-value really increase with him not being in the rotation?

The other major point of the Quick article is how high McMillan is on Taurean Green. The heaps of praise aren't totally surprising, Green was impressive in summer league (that is, when he actually got to play his position) and just read his DraftExpress profile to get a sense of how he did on his other pre-NBA benchmarks. What is really shocking is Nate McMillan supporting him with enthusiasm and passion on a level we rarely see. This could be something.

The tension between local fans and media (who are largely still in the Sergio Tornado), and Nate (who sees Sergio everyday and knows more about basketball than local fans/media) over Sergio's role will be an interesting story to watch this season. Last year, Sergio actually played and Nate still found himself getting bombarded with questions about why he wasn't giving opportunities to Sergio. This season, totally out of the rotation? Oh boy.