Angel Rodriguez Clears The Air About Time With San Antonio

Angel Rodriquez played for the San Antonio Spurs summer league team while in Utah and was a guest on Locked On Spurs with News 4 San Antonio’s Jeff Garcia.

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You are probably wondering to yourself, why are we talking about a player that was just on a summer league roster and not on the teams official roster. There is a little back story on Rodriquez. The guard joined the show with Garcia to

clear up the air about a recent report he was frustrated with his experience with the Spurs out in Utah

The report stated he was upset over the business side of the NBA and that he didn’t enjoy playing with San Antonio.

From the interview, Rodriquez talked about Jonathon Simmons and Kyle Anderson and how they stepped up with their leadership with the team while in Utah.

“I was actually very impressed with the process…their role as far as leadership, they did a great job. They communicated with guys alot, they were patient..they talked guys through it…they never, ever lost their cool.”

To me, that does not sound like someone that did not have a good time with playing for San Antonio. The Spurs culture is based on patience, not losing cool. To hear that Simmons and Anderson, as young of players that they are, are portraying what San Antonio basketball is about.

Garcia went on to talk about how the Spurs and Gregg Popovich live by the ‘check your ego at the door’ phase and though the transition to professional sports has to keep one grounded and not get overly excited about playing in the NBA.

Mar 24, 2016; Louisville, KY, USA; Miami Hurricanes guard Angel Rodriguez (13) handles the ball against the Villanova Wildcats in a semifinal game in the South regional of the NCAA Tournament at KFC YUM!. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-USA TODAY Sports

“You come out of college and use to being the guy…to going to the summer league to playing with guys that have played in NBA games…and to see them act the way they have acted and handle success the way they have….at least when they were around us it was a humbling experience”.

After the talks of his experience with the summer league team, Rodriquez went on to discuss the report that made him out to be the guy that did not have a good experience with San Antonio.

The report came out stating that he was frustrated with the team and that he felt he outplayed a number of players during the summer league. He went on to talk about the numerous media reporters that he talked to and they asked him the same question of frustrations with the amount of playing time he wasn’t getting and his response was the same.

“I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t frustrated”.

He goes on to talk about how the summer league is a place to showcase your skills and everyone is there watching you. He stated he understood the process and that he had to prove himself and also understood he was not going to be able to play as much as he wanted to. While in San Antonio he talked about how he competed with everyone there and felt good about his play.

“I felt very very good about earning playing time”.

He talked about how he understands that there is a business side of the NBA. He continued to talk about how he was frustrated with the media outlet that distributed the story and stated he does not hold grudges against anyone and he is not that kind of guy.

“I wanted to clear the air and tell you even though I didn’t play as much that the whole staff can tell you that I came in everyday with a smile, shaking hands but the competitive side of me was not happy because I wanted to play”.

You can’t help but have respect for a player that knows though his playing time is limited, he goes out and still proves he is a competitor. He went on to talk about the Spurs organization and how special they are and leaving on a good note with them.

“You don’t want to close any doors or burn any bridges, especially with a special organization like the Spurs, that is just not the right thing to do”.

Keep your head-up Rodriquez. You definitely are a class act.

(H/T Jeff Garcia Spurs Zone)

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