Rudy openly expresses disgruntlement
He doesn't have to much leverage, and I don't think it's going to do much, but it is a pretty brazen shot at Nate's little double PG ditty (which seems to be working OK).
over 2 years ago
atomiccafe
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Originally from the Columbian
http://columbian.com/article/20091108/BLOGS05/911089993/-1/blazerbanter
But before the blowout, he questioned his role on a team filled with talent and depth at the guard position, using the phrase “I don’t know” four times during a two-minute pregame interview.
Fernandez is listed as the Blazers’ No. 2 shooting guard, behind starter Brandon Roy.
However, McMillan’s decision to insert point guard Andre Miller into the team’s starting lineup along with incumbent starter Steve Blake and Roy has only deepened the Blazers’ build up at the 2 guard slot.
While Miller and Blake share point-guard duties, both are able to shift over and play the shooting-guard role. In addition, reserve guard Jerryd Bayless took the court for the first time last Friday against the Spurs, and played more than 17 minutes Sunday.
Fernandez said this only complicates his standing on the Blazers.
“Right now, I don’t know my situation in the team,” said Fernandez, who dealt with back spasms during training camp and missed four preseason games. “Blake play in the 2 (guard) position. For sure (that) is one more player in that position. Right now, I’m focusing in my work and taking (care of) my back. And when I’m on the court, play hard to help my teammates.”
Fernandez, a native of Palma de Mallorca, Spain, added that he is losing money by playing in the NBA, rather than starring in his home country.
“For me, it’s wait my turn … and play hard,” Fernandez said. “It doesn’t matter if it’s five minutes, 10 minutes or 35.”
"I'm at the thingamajig talking the yakety-yak" - Kenny Smith
Seems like Shoals is being an alarmist.
Definitely an unsubstantiated claim that he’s making without any true quotes to support it.
"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."
I don't know? 4 times in a 2 min. interview and now he's a disgruntaled Player? News use to be facts, not just
someone trying to start a contriversy. Get Real!
I don't get it.
He’s not saying he needs more minutes. In fact, he actually said, "It doesn’t matter if it’s five minutes, 10 minutes or 35."
He did say that he doesn’t know his role on the team, which puts him in very good company on this team:
Blake
Miller
Martell
Travis
Bayless
Roles will become much more clear as the season progresses. For now, Rudy’s interview doesn’t leave me thinking he is particularly disgruntled.
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
I hope you are right
But, if last season is any indicator, player roles will not be established by the end of the year.
Just play Blake less and Rudy more
This is the solution.
by jksnake99 on Nov 9, 2009 1:38 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
everyone but Nate knows it too...
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
careful with this — translating rudy can get tricky. give him the road trip and see where his minutes are before judging
by Ben Golliver on Nov 9, 2009 1:57 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
I thought BS was being sarcastic...
am I wrong?
"B-Roy is the best shooting guard I have played against"
-Ron Artest
Doesn't sound like it if you read his comment below the article
"What happened to Bayless anyway? Did he turn into a pumpkin? Most teams don’t just let #11 picks rot." - Xiane
lol
that comment by shoals was made after I posted my comment, but you’re right that definitely changes his tone.
"B-Roy is the best shooting guard I have played against"
-Ron Artest
McMillan said the key to having success on the road comes down to one thing: whining.
by amlmart1 on Nov 9, 2009 2:14 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
Translation: funny.
:-)
The cowards never started
The weak died along the way
Only the strong survived
They were the Trailblazers
agreed
what is says isn’t always what he means. He just doesn’t know the right words to use. That’s obvious in a lot of his interviews.
Wether or not this is true...
Rudy needs minutes. He was sold on the idea that coming here would mean less money short term and more money in the long term when he develops into a top NBA SG. Right now he isn’t getting the minutes he needs and he would have been better off monetarily if he had stayed in Spain. Those are some good points. We all want to think it is all about the team but for guys like Rudy it at some point has to be about being set for life and being set for the next 20 years.
Minutes for Rudy would entail him playing decent.
His shot is completely off this year and he turns the ball over more than Blake.
Rudy was great yesterday
his shooting will come around – if given the minutes consistently to work through his slump. In the meantime, he can be a game-changer in other areas, and certainly was last night, particularly in the 2nd quarter. He had 6 assists, which would have been closer to 10 if you count the number of times a guy he delivered a great pass to was fouled. He also pulled down 4 or 5 rebounds and created a few steals.
How did you guys win that?
"We scored enough points. We scored 107, they scored 105.
-Nate McMillan Postgame, 3/4/2009
Yeah he played well.
There’s kind of an asterisk next to those numbers when they’re playing arguably the worst team in the league though. It’s kind of like Greg Oden lighting up Spencer Hawes. It would be nice to see Rudy play well against a decent team. You guys could be right about him starting. It would definitely make him happier.
I didn't mean to be alarmist
As several of the commentators have said, basically Rudy has to play better. If Rudy plays well enough to get a role in the rotation, he’ll have one. At this point, Rudy is under contract with the Blazers for 2-3 years, and he’s just going to have to suck it up and play for his minutes.
Rudy is already playing better than Blake
Webster and Outlaw are also playing better than Blake. Yet Blake is a starter and getting huge minutes. It makes no sense.
by trk on Nov 9, 2009 3:22 PM PST up reply actions
correct
It’s hard to get a feeling for who is playing better, and how exactly a player is supposed to earn minutes.
At the 2-3 positions right now, obviously Roy is a lock for 30+ minutes split between those two positions somehow. Behind him, Webster and Outlaw have been pretty good. Outlaw’s instant offense is a great weapon to have, and Webster’s energy, defense, and shooting are helpful assets. Rudy’s given us good play in spurts, and is probably a better player than Blake overall. Blake has likewise been pretty inconsistent.
This may just be a longwinded way of saying it looks like Nate is really feeling his way through this. You are correct to say that based on Blake’s early performances, it makes very little sense to create additional minutes for him at the already jam-packed 2-guard position.
But in Nate’s defense, having an additional ballhandler seems to help the flow of the offense. As much as people have advocated having Rudy act as a PG, he hasn’t shown a great handle or great decisionmaking when he’s not moving to the basket. In other words, he hasn’t shown the skills necessary to initiate the offense. So if Nate is looking for more ballhandling, and can get away with Blake and Miller together defensively, it works for the time being. Obviously, it’s not a long term solution, since we’ll be destroyed by scoring 2-guards and larger small forwards. But it is something that seems to have kicked us into gear a little bit (along with playing the terrible timberwolves).
Finally, this Blake at the 2 could cause some big problems down the road. Bayless is getting a little run in the team, and Nate may be feeling pressure to play him. So that increases the playing time crunch at both guard positions (since if Blake can play SG, then JayBay probably could too). So instead of coalescing the options into a cohesive unit with set roles Nate’s increased the number of options and the amount of confusion.
I think Nate’s decision here has something to recommend it, but also some serious drawbacks, which are alluded to here and in other comments. Hopefully it will iron itself out in the end.
Blake's supposed to spread the floor with this lineup.
He’s shooting 40% from deep to Rudy’s 26%. In that sense, he’s serving his purpose better than Rudy would at this point. I think Martell has a more legitimate gripe the way he has played.
exactly
whoever the 5th starter is who plays with Miller-Roy-LMA-Greg needs to spot up and hit the 3 point shot to spread the floor. I’d prefer Martell (RAWMO) but for now Blake is Nate’s choice
OTOH, Rudy wants a more important role than to just “do a Portland” (Nic’s words, but they’re apropos) and his best chance to make plays is with the white unit, especially now that Andre is starting. This is exactly what we’ve seen in the last few games, Rudy is running the half-court offense when Bayless is in the game. Nate said he wanted to try Jerryd and Rudy together in the backcourt, as far back as July. Now that Fernandez is healthy, he’s finally getting the chance
If Nate sticks Rudy in the starting lineup, he’ll have an unhappy Spaniard. It’s better to leave Blake in there, for Roy’s sake and to help ease the transition to Miller as the starter.
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I don't know why we'd put Rudy in over Martell
Their shooting is pretty comparable. Rudy adds better passing. Martell adds better defense. I think that defense is much more important to start games.
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
that's the one!
our five best players on the same lineup … its genius!
by Sound_Automatic on Nov 9, 2009 11:09 PM PST up reply actions
i don't know rudy's role either
don’t know how you got the fanshot title from the article. seems alarmist to me.
"Right now, I don’t know my situation in the team," said Fernandez, who dealt with back spasms during training camp and missed four preseason games. "Blake play in the 2 (guard) position. For sure (that) is one more player in that position. Right now, I’m focusing in my work and taking (care of) my back. And when I’m on the court, play hard to help my teammates."
"For me, it’s wait my turn … and play hard," Fernandez said. "It doesn’t matter if it’s five minutes, 10 minutes or 35."
i cannot derive disgruntlement from that, the only quotes in the article. at this moment, he doesn’t have a role on the team, like the whole second unit. all he and guys like webster can do is continue to play hard. hopefully it will get recognised.
I'll play along with Nate's whim
He should know he’s playing with fire. Not just the possible disgruntlement of Rudy and Webster but all the fans. It doesn’t make a lot of sense on paper… but I guess we have no choice but to wait and see how it plays out. As has been said previously in abundance, for me it’s a toss-up between Martell and Rudy. Actually, that’s credit to Coach for even making the 3G lineup an option. Even though he hasn’t earned it this season, I’d choose Rudy for ball movement. You lose a little on defense (actually it’s a slight gain over Blake at 2) but gain energy.
As my grandmother used to say, "What a load of hogwash."
"She turned me into a newt!
A newt?
...I got better."
you know why they call him Crash, right?
by kobisportsguy on Nov 9, 2009 5:24 PM PST up reply actions
cos he's AWESOME
thats why.
right?
"What happened to Bayless anyway? Did he turn into a pumpkin? Most teams don’t just let #11 picks rot." - Xiane
I don't see Rudy Fernandez as a Larry Brown type of player, but that's just an assumption on my part.
Dear Paul Allen:
Fire Nate McMillan & hire Jeff Van Gundy.
Sincerely,
AK1984
Disgruntled? That's a bit of a stretch from that article.
Rudy sounds a little unsure of his role right now, but I think a lot of Blazers are. They know this line up can’t last. The first game we get out rebounded by 10 and lose the game by 3 points, people are going to question Nate again. Rudy didn’t sound very negative at all to me in that article.
I don't blame him for being confused
This whole new starting lineup, while it seems to actually be working for now, was a bit of a shock and squeezed both Rudy and Martell’s minutes a lot. Rudy didn’t really seem upset in the article, just unsure of what’s going on and I doubt he’s the only one. I do think that once he gets his touch back (sooner that later hopefully) he’ll get more minutes and once Brandon gets used to playing with Andre then things will change. It’s the beginning of the season and losing Nic and integrating Miller seems to have had a bigger effect that perhaps anyone foresaw.
Nate really likes Rudy so I think that as the season progresses if Rudy keeps up on the other great stuff he does and gets his shot back he’ll be in a lot more (if not starting some nights) and won’t be confused.
Nate likes Blake and Travis, too
Nate really likes Rudy
there aren’t enough minutes for all of the guys that Nate likes, even with Batum hurt
the best option is to push the tempo, an that’s what McMillian’s doing. Get everyone involved and into the scoring column. Oh, and keep winning, because as Johh Madden likes to say “winning is the best deoderant”
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Bench blake Start Rudy!!
Free Rudy Now.
The Faith don't panic, the faith freaks out, burns out farms, and torchs small villages in the name of The Faith.
"New Man Law: If you don't show up for the draft you don't get to come later if you're picked. If you believe in yourself, show up and sit there. If nobody else believes in you, take it and cry like a man...in front of the cameras."
-Dave
We just have to make it to next year
Travis will hopefully be gone, Blake will probably be gone. That’s a lot of minutes for Batum and Rudy and Martell. We’ll be fine but through this year the traffic jam is going to continue methinks.
I guess people will see what they want.
If you take what he is saying at face value rather than trying infer anything, all he said was he doesn’t know what his role is and having Blake play the 2 adds another player at that position. Just sounds like a clear statement of fact rather than complaint. He follows that up with he’ll wait his turn and play hard when it comes. I don’t see anything worth writing about based on that interview.
Silly article
If you read the original Columbian piece, you see there’s nothing there.
The only suspect part is Rudy talking about how he could be making more money in Europe. And—interestingly—that part is paraphrased. No doubt the INTERVIEWER brought up the money issue and Rudy only responded—as non-commitally as possible.
"We don't back down to nobody." --Joel Przybilla
and I thought Kenny Vance jumped to conclusions and connected unrelated dots.
but I guess it’s our faults as members of US culture that sensationalism sells…
we have get more into logic and dialogue. Those are good things.
I'm just not crazy about player nick names...
by Hipster Olympic Team! on Nov 10, 2009 2:26 PM PST reply actions
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