Panathinikos 3 Years $18.3 Million Contract To Rudy Fernandez

by Ming on Jul 14, 2010 3:19 PM PDT

The Greek League club Panathinaikos Athens is desperate to make a "big free agent" signing this summer after they lost their franchise player Vassilis Spanoulis to their hated arch rivals Olympiacos Piraeus. So they are going hard after Rudy Fernandez. They offered him a 3 year $18.3 million contract.

They would also pay the remaining salary left on his contract to the Portland Trail Blazers in order to get him released from the club.

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I could be wrong on this

but I don’t think Paul is willing to let Rudy buy himself out for 3.42 million (1.246 this year, 2.180 in 10-11). That’s pretty small potatoes in the grand scheme of things, and that full amount would still apply toward our salary cap number the next two years. Of course in this scenario, we wouldn’t pick up the team option for 10-11, thus reducing the amount to just the 1.246 owed this year. Since we likely pay at least that much to whomever we acquire to fill his roster spot, I honestly don’t see what the selling point is to Mr. Allen.

"I want to be traded to a contender" is almost always code-speak for "I'm a loser."
-Dave, 2/5/2010: http://www.blazersedge.com/2010/2/5/1297509/no-amore-for-amare

by douglast on Jul 14, 2010 3:26 PM PDT reply actions

maybe opening up the roster spot is attractive enough?

assuming utah doesn’t match the offer on matthews he will be our 14th man. If we got rid of him (rudy) without taking a player back it gives us two spots, meaning we can sign both mills and armon instead of having to pick, right?
I realize trading him for a draft pick or two straight up to free another roster spot is probably preferable but PA might say “ah screw it” and do this just to get this over with instead of spending time and effort trying to trade him. easy (read: slacker) way out kinda deal.

Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn

by postup on Jul 14, 2010 3:44 PM PDT up reply actions

Could be

Maybe the thought of Panathinaikos buying out his contract would be attractive to a team wanting to shed salary. Sure it would still count against the cap this year, but they would be compensated for this years salary and could wipe a few mill off their books for next season.

It wouldn’t get us much, but could essentially be seen as another expiring contract to pair with Joel and Dre’s.

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by iDea on Jul 14, 2010 6:31 PM PDT up reply actions

If it still applies towards our cap, then I say no deal.

Rudy’s still good for at least a future draft pick, which is probably more important to Paul Allen than money.

I’m getting tired of all the Rudy drama. and now I’m leaning more towards the idea of just letting him rot on the bench for the season.

"Nicolas! You're the strongest boy in the world!"

by ericking on Jul 14, 2010 3:48 PM PDT up reply actions

Trade him to Mini-Wolves

Draw to get Rubio over, and knowing them they will prolly be top 5 next year. Then offer this in the NO deal to get Paul.

by OllieG123 on Jul 14, 2010 3:51 PM PDT up reply actions

And they might be moving to Vegas

Silent Swagger.

by 420Phenom on Jul 14, 2010 7:12 PM PDT up reply actions

Seattle has first dibs

Blazers win!

by The X-man on Jul 14, 2010 9:38 PM PDT up reply actions

It would not count against the Blazers cap. Like I said this is a different club altogether in Panathinaikos. They would pay his Blazers salary directly to him, he would accept waiving ALL his money entirely from the Blazers for a zero cost buyout and the NBA would write it off.

Then in addition to that the Blazers would receive cash from Panathinaikos for the transaction. Panathinaikos has done this before numerous times.

They did the same thing with Vassilis Spanoulis and his salary was removed from the Spurs cap.

by Ming on Jul 14, 2010 3:54 PM PDT up reply actions

ok, this would be different

now you are saying Rudy would agree to a $0 buyout from Portland. Still not sure Paul does it. He doesn’t need the cash, 1.2 million isn’t going to help us sign a free agent or facilitate a trade since we are way over the cap anyway. At most, it means we pay that much less in salaries and again in tax. So it comes down to will Paul Allen let Rudy walk away for 2.4 million dollars? I dunno, but I wouldn’t bet on it.

"I want to be traded to a contender" is almost always code-speak for "I'm a loser."
-Dave, 2/5/2010: http://www.blazersedge.com/2010/2/5/1297509/no-amore-for-amare

by douglast on Jul 14, 2010 3:59 PM PDT up reply actions

What if it meant PA gets to keep Patty?

by panfolk on Jul 14, 2010 4:05 PM PDT up reply actions

Typically when a player buys our a contract

he pays a 60-70% penalty on the deal. In this case I wouldn’t be suprised if Allen asked for more money than the actual deal.

by Escrote on Jul 14, 2010 4:13 PM PDT up reply actions

Like I said, the Spurs got $1.6 million cash just to let Spanoulis leave. That was 3 years ago.

by Ming on Jul 14, 2010 4:14 PM PDT up reply actions

Again…look at how they got Spanoulis from the Spurs. There is a HUGE myth in the NBA (created entirely by Daryl Morey the Rockets GM – who is liar) that it was Morey that orchestrated the Luis Scola deal.

That’s him lying and making up fantasies and stupid US sports media believing it. A retarded Rockets fans base bought it.

The truth was the club Panathinaikos engineered the entire thing. Right from the beginning. They needed to force the Rockets hands to release him. So they set up a trade partner with the Spurs.

They then got the Scola deal done to Houston and in addition to that the Spurs were able to dump the contract of Jackie Butler.

Panathinaikos was responsible for it all, right from the beginning. Morey did absolutely nothing. And out of it, the Spurs got cash, dumped a bad contract, got a first round draft pick (which turned into Tiago Splitter) and the Rockets got Luis Scola.

Panathinaikos got Spanoulis.

Again ALL entirely 100% orchestrated and done by Panathinaikos managers. The Rockets didn’t even do a single negotiation in it.

If Panathinaikos has set their heart on Rudy and if he wants to go there then the Blazers will get whatever they ask out of it.

The only strange thing is that Rudy isn’t good enough of a player that they should be considering doing this. He’s just not that good of player. They can get much better players than him in Europe for the money being talked about.

So due to their history in getting players from the NBA, it might be that Rudy’s agent is now using them as a ploy to further push the hand of the Blazers. The Barcelona-real Madrid stuff isn’t making the Blazers bend to his demands. So they might use Panathinaikos as leverage.

Totally different than trying to use Barca or Real as leverage. Panathinaikos has history of getting any player they want.

Drazen Petrovic
Dino Radja
Vassilis Spanoulis
Sarunas Jasikevicius
Byron Scott
Dominique Wilkins

etc. etc. so maybe it is just that Rudy’s agent out this out there thinking it might scare the Blazers a little more than the Real and Barca threats which have not seemed to so far. Keep in mind though that Real has more money to spend than PAO (Panathinaikos) does. I think Barca might also. It’s just that they don’t go so hard after players that they want as PAO does.

by Ming on Jul 14, 2010 4:13 PM PDT up reply actions

Rudy was a top MVP candidate while in Europe

I am sure he is still very highly regarded there,

"Knowledge will get you from A to B. Creativity will get you anywhere." Einstein

by Garden of ODEN on Jul 14, 2010 5:39 PM PDT up reply actions

In the second level of Europe. The Eurocup. That is like Europe’s version of the NBA D-League.

He was never an MVP candidate in the Euroleague, which is Europe’s version of the NBA. If someone from the Blazers told you otherwise……….you were lied to.

by Ming on Jul 14, 2010 11:13 PM PDT up reply actions

Technically, the Portland Trail Blazers and Rudy Fernandez could agree to a mutual buyout for this ...

upcoming season’s salary — since it’s all that matters, for the final season is a team option — as a result, his contract would immediately be taken off the books. Now, a backdoor agreement between the team and Fernandez would have to be in place that he’s going to Europe — which is pretty much assured here — and all parties involved will be better for it.

Again, as I’ve said numerous times, this situation will probably play out similar to that of Vassilis Spanoulis, Arvydas Macijauskas, Antoine Rigaudeau, et al. Some guys just don’t work out in the NBA, which is a part of life.

In any event, a backcourt of Fernandez and Dimitris Diamantidis would be formidable for Panathinaikos. I’m not sure if Fernandez would necessarily want to play in Greece, even though I guess that the financial woes over there haven’t carried over too badly to the high-end pro sports teams.

by AK1984 on Jul 14, 2010 4:30 PM PDT up reply actions

Rudy would play SF in Panathinaikos if they signed him. The same position he played in the Spanish League and plays on Spain’s national team.

by Ming on Jul 14, 2010 11:14 PM PDT up reply actions

I guess the financial crisis is over in Greece

6 million a year for Rudy? Maybe if he came with sergio and there was a clause that they had to connect for an alley oop at least once a quarter.

slimkim

by slimkim on Jul 16, 2010 1:20 AM PDT up reply actions

Panathinaikos would pay his salary, plus a buyout. They paid 1 million euros cash ($1.3 million now) and at the time then was $1.6 million to the Spurs to get Spanoulis out of his contract.

The rumors about Rudy in Europe have always been to clubs like CSKA, Barcelona, Real Madrid never a club like Panathinaikos. Panathinaikos is totally different. They have a very long history of getting a player, no matter who it is, once they set their mind on him.

Far bigger and more famous and better players than Rudy they have signed.

by Ming on Jul 14, 2010 3:39 PM PDT reply actions

If Rudy wants out. They should let him. Paul could also trade for a draft pick, from a

a team which needs the money

by prof.mike on Jul 14, 2010 3:41 PM PDT reply actions

Don't give him away; get a draft pick.

But, how do you use a Euro league draft pick?

Maybe the Blazers can bank a “buy-out” right that can be used in the future to free a locked-up Euro star, and the team that acquires Rudy has to throw in a future draft right (or player) that goes to the “release” team as compensation for being forced to give up their young star to the Blazers.

Maybe we can just start a Euro-Swap futures market and monetize the derivatives. That way we might be able to syndicate Rudy’s shooting potential and strip-off his defensive liabilities to be dumped in the sub-prime market. I’ve already lined up buyers in Hollywood for the rights to his face…

by Sashland on Jul 14, 2010 7:23 PM PDT up reply actions

Honestly, I'm one of the guys who doesn't blame Lebron for leaving...

…but I gotta say, if I’m Paul Allen, I let Rudy go.

1st: He has so little value around the league right now, not like letting a big asset go.

2nd: It seems, and maybe I’m wrong, but it really seems all are in agreement that Rudy would be losing $$$ to come over, but PDX convinced him it’d be worth it, he’d be a player in this league, we’d contend for rings immediately, ect….

Everyone was wrong, Rudy, PDX, particularly on his talent level.

3rd: It seems to me it might be a “good will” move to let him go, considering the circumstances of how we got him over here…

…lol, just my take, I’m sure many would disagree with it, but just thinking, lol, if Rudy wasn’t quite a cancer before, just wait and see how ticked he’ll be knowing the Blazers denied him an opportunity to go home…

…and instead of making about 14 million over the next 3 years…he’ll be making about 3.5 million…

…if your not LBJ, that is a sizeable pay difference

….lol, besides if we do something “nice,” maybe Woj will write something nice about us!

by irish3 on Jul 14, 2010 3:42 PM PDT reply actions

being unsatisfied on a team

is far from being a cancer…none of the temper tantrums that any of the blazers have had during the KP era would be considered a cancer by league or sports standards. our media likes to make things more significant than they really are.

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by Philthyanimal on Jul 14, 2010 4:11 PM PDT up reply actions

I'm sure PA would do it for no other reason...JUST to get WOJ to say something nice about the Blazers

by Natsthecat on Jul 14, 2010 5:20 PM PDT up reply actions

I would wait a few weeks and see what you can get from him.

He could be a valuable piece in making contracts match on a trade and a team with cap space may want the buyout money.

by Escrote on Jul 14, 2010 3:45 PM PDT reply actions

whoops. meant get for him not from him...

we already know what we will get from him

by Escrote on Jul 14, 2010 3:54 PM PDT up reply actions

rudys stock takes another fall.........

"And our second unit can probably start in most NBA cities." -Maurice Lucas

by dew0lfe on Jul 14, 2010 4:29 PM PDT reply actions

Absolutely not

If this is for real, it raises his trade stock.

Others above have discussed how the cash is perhaps not that big of a deal to Paul Allen. But what would this offer represent to a team facing difficult financial times?

I’m not convinced it is real. But if it is, Rudy starts to look pretty good in a trade if a team knows they will get cash for letting his rights go to Europe.

by Storyteller on Jul 14, 2010 4:37 PM PDT up reply actions

great angle, hadn't thought of that.

"I want to be traded to a contender" is almost always code-speak for "I'm a loser."
-Dave, 2/5/2010: http://www.blazersedge.com/2010/2/5/1297509/no-amore-for-amare

by douglast on Jul 14, 2010 4:40 PM PDT up reply actions

very good angle!!!

by Natsthecat on Jul 14, 2010 5:21 PM PDT up reply actions

That's exactly

what I was thinking. Now Rudy could potentially not only be a little cap relief for some team, but also cash back on the deal. Basically, his value has gone up considerably. hopefully we can take advantage of this, rather than just letting him “rot on the bench”

by LOM on Jul 14, 2010 5:00 PM PDT up reply actions

Let him rot on the bench and let's be done with drafting eu talent. how often do they really pan out for us? 1/60? and that one.... well... yeah but still.

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by faith on Jul 15, 2010 7:48 AM PDT up reply actions

There's no way Rudy walks or is transferred to Europe

without a sizeable buyout. Blazer’s paid 3 million depreciated now by one year. He’s not an RFA like Childress who had the option to flee to Europe. His basketball rights are owned by the Blazers and there’s no escaping it. We will trade him for something or other don’t you think?

by oregonslee on Jul 14, 2010 6:42 PM PDT reply actions

Just sit tight and let him play in the Worlds unless we need him in a trade earlier.

His trade value will rise as we get nearer the start of the season and teams fill in remaining needs. Plus if he plays well in the World’s that could also influence his trade value in October.

by BlazerFanSince1970 on Jul 14, 2010 9:28 PM PDT reply actions

Where's the link to this report?

You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.

by austinpwnz on Jul 14, 2010 11:49 PM PDT reply actions

Rudy just personally confirmed this to a large Greek paper. He expects to sign with Panathinaikos very soon.

http://www.gazzetta.gr/basket/a1/item/93140

by Ming on Jul 15, 2010 10:07 AM PDT reply actions

best bet

If Paul still wants a draft pick… 3 way deal with Panathinaikos. Find a team that needs the cash now and has a pick to trade. Send Rudy for pick. Panathinaikos buys out contract for 3rd team.

by boppitywop on Jul 15, 2010 11:47 AM PDT reply actions