Rockets reportedly plan to offer Sergio Llull about $17 million over three years

Sergio Llull, the No. 34 pick in the 2009 NBA draft, could join the Rockets next season.

How committed is Houston to Llull?

Encestando, as translated and summarized by Sportando:

The Houston Rockets are willing to offer a three-year deal, worth around 17 mln, to Spanish guard Sergio Llull, currently playing for Real Madrid.

Daryl Morey was in Madrid two weeks ago and spoke with Llull and his agent about this possibility. Llull is under contract with Real Madrid until 2019 and there’s a very high buyout on the deal, at least 4.5 mln.

That’s a decent chunk of change, but if Llull’s buyout is so high and Houston wants him, that’s probably what it will take.

This would be a similar starting salary to what the Rockets gave Kostas Papanikolaou, another former second rounder who developed for years in Europe. But that deal, signed last summer, was for just two years, and the second season was unguaranteed.

The devil is in the details, but it sounds as if Houston is willing to pay more for Llull. That could be due to the salary cap exploding in 2016 or the Rockets’ need for guard depth. Most likely, both factor.