Sierra: Rudy's Agent Says Situation In Portland Isn't Reparable
Over on HoopsHype.com, Jorge Sierra has a lengthy interview with Andy Miller, agent for Moody Rudy Fernandez.
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"Portland and I have had numerous discussions, almost daily, on the situation," Andy Miller told HoopsHype.com. "I think this situation is headed for a collision course because Rudy’s perspective on where he wants to be and what he wants to do and how he wants to accomplish it is on the opposite of the spectrum from where Portland sees the situation.
"I don’t think (the relationship) is reparable."
...
"The least of Rudy’s concerns is the minutes," Miller said. "That has been portrayed as the main issue because it’s the easiest way to evaluate statistically. When Rudy came to the NBA, he was at that point certainly the No. 1 player in Spain and one of the top players in the NBA. Him coming to the NBA was solely about one goal and that goal was to achieve a lifelong dream of challenging his basketball skills at the highest level, see how good an NBA player he could be. That opportunity and that platform were communicated and portrayed to him in a different light than what the reality has become."
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-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter
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Send him to a losing team where he will be able to play.
He might see that winning is more fun.
No kidding.
"The impression I’m getting more and more is that he’s lost interest in playing in the NBA, quite frankly," Miller said. "It’s my impression that Rudy would prefer to be in Europe rather than the NBA at this point."
Kinda hurts the trade options, no? But then, perhaps most of the teams in the NBA have already realized the same thing — Rudy wants out.
Yeah
I don’t think Andy Miller is a stupid agent. He’s playing hardball. It’s sad that it had to come to this.
Although he's not bright either.
Probably have slightly better leverage doing this tactic after whatever happens in the Worlds. Lots of possibilities there that I wonder how people are considering.
PA fired a whole lot of people over a squabble with an agent
He ain’t about to bend over on this one.
In KP I trusted!
Waiting until after the Worlds make sense for getting a trade, but not if Rudy wants out of the NBA.
It'd seem like it would be a pretty major distraction.
And that it’s hard to see why the agent thought this would make it better in a timely enough way to make it not affect him adversely. It’s a strange situation that I can’t quite figure out if it’s tactical, miscalculated, or (most likely) both.
If someone said Miller and LeGarie had some kind of secret pact.
I couldn’t possibly find that conspiracy theory any more strange than anything else that seems to be going on when it comes to the Blazers offthecourt stuff this year. And the media…
Make Rudy come up with $7-$10Mil.
to buy himself out of his contract considering the fact we spent 3Mil just to move up in the draft to pick him. That way we actually get something of value, or just let him rot for 2 years where he cannot play for anyone!
he already had to pay
to buy himself out of his original Spanish team’s contract, back in ’08
Fernandez sure didn’t come to the NBA for the money
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I said below this is like Haynesworth's offseason with the Redskins
In which case his hardball is more like my dog’s favorite tennis ball
Put him on the IR for the year and let him "wither on the vine"
At this point, I’m all for the scorched earth approach, considering the lack of professionalism from Rudy’s camp.
Interrogation Cop: What are you saying?
Fenster: I said he'll flip you.
Interrogation Cop: He'll what?
Fenster: Flip you. Flip ya for real.
by Cyclops@Centercourt on Aug 18, 2010 12:32 PM PDT reply actions 11 recs
that has been my thought all along.
Portland has the upper hand in all of this. It will make Rudy’s next contract awfully hard to negotiate.
I'm sure FAs would looove to come to Portland if we do that.
"What you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. May God have mercy on your soul."
certainly not Spanish ones
despedida, Victor Claver
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
and one of the top players in the NBA
Did he mean to say one of the top players not in the NBA, or is he delusional?
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
by pualo on Aug 18, 2010 12:34 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
that's what I was going to say
What a ridiculous claim.
You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.
that was my guess as well
"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
When Rudy came to the NBA, he was at that point certainly the No. 1 player in Spain and one of the top players in the NBA.
Wow. Where did Rudy find this guy? Is he a real agent, or just some idiot Rudy met on the plane ride over?
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
He is a real agent
For Rudy, Andre, Garnett, Billips and 24 others
- in players signed and #7 in total contract dollars at $89M for his clients
_________________________________________
If "It's Only a Game", then why do we keep score?
That was Number 3 in players signed...Damn typo's
_________________________________________
If "It's Only a Game", then why do we keep score?
Sure, he is "...certainly the No. 1 player in Spain and one of the top players in the NBA..."
FOR ME TO POOP ON!
by ArbyOSU on Aug 18, 2010 3:55 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
haaha
I think it was a slip of tongue. I don’t think the agent meant to really say that, not to state the obvious.
by thevupster777 on Aug 19, 2010 1:35 AM PDT up reply actions
Oh, he was?
Blockquoted paragraph When Rudy came to the NBA, he was at that point certainly the No. 1 player in Spain and one of the top players in the NBA
I just thought he was a poor defensive and average offensive player who could stroke it from long, but had a slow first step, and below average lateral quickness.
But if he was one of the best players in the NBA when he first came to Portland, I could understand why he would be upset. The renewable lifestyle and 20+ minutes per game in Portland must have ruined him. Poor Rudy.
by smoothbeans on Aug 18, 2010 12:35 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Hey Rudy
The top players in the NBA make a WHOLE lot more than you are, so you must have DELUSIONS OF GRANDEUR!! Get used to doing your 5 o’clock shadow euro pout on the end of the bench you quitter! Your buddy Sergio had similar delusions and he’s gone home to mommy.
by doomsdaymachine on Aug 18, 2010 1:15 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions 1 recs
I am all for doing whatever screws his agent the most....
“one of the top players in the NBA…”
Really? REALLY?!?!?!?!
I am beginning to think all of my frustration with Rudy should have been directed at this clown, Miller.
After one play today, Bayless walked to the sideline, picked up the garbage bucket that collects the extra basketball balls and then slammed it down forcefully while shouting. For no particular reason. - Ben
by The Penguin on Aug 18, 2010 12:36 PM PDT reply actions 6 recs
That line seems to have struck a chord
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
by dan_the_man on Aug 18, 2010 12:39 PM PDT up reply actions
that line can't possibly be an accurate quote.
It doesn’t even make syntactic sense—he wasn’t “in the NBA” at all until he came over.
Safer to assume the agent said, or meant to say, that he was one of the best players in Euroleague, or similar.
If being really good at missing teardrop floaters in the lane makes you a great NBA player
Then Andy Miller is 100% correct
by yellow hummer on Aug 18, 2010 12:37 PM PDT reply actions 6 recs
Interesting quote from Sergio
His former teammate and closest friend in Portland, Sergio Rodriguez, who also expressed displeasure with his role under Nate McMillan, believes pastures may not be greener for him elsewhere, though.
"I think Rudy is a player that can fit in with many teams, including Portland," Rodriguez said. "Brandon Roy is there, that’s true. And the way Roy plays maybe is not the best for Rudy, but I think he could still play there. You have to be able to handle it. He has to change his mentality as far as acknowledging Portland is the team that drafted him and that’s four years he has to do there before he can make a decision (on his future)."
#52
by CatMan2 on Aug 18, 2010 12:41 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
When Sergio is telling you to put up or shut up
You know you are doing something wrong.
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
by dan_the_man on Aug 18, 2010 12:43 PM PDT up reply actions 11 recs
I give Sergio a lot of credit.
He took his lumps and moved on. The dude was CLEARLY frustrated here and was an odd man out/bad fit. Did he ever pull crap like this? Nope.
Typical backwards thinking to turn a "rudy needs to suck it up" statement into an "anti-portland" statement
“Believes pastures may not be greener for him elsewhere” = “Rudy is a player that can fit in with many teams”
I guess equally green means equally good as well as equally bad.
Portland could coast along with their superior talent and stay right with us. Now that Portland woke up, the hammer cometh down.
Bayless > Daffy Duck after 3 cans of rockstar
by Batumshakalaka on Aug 18, 2010 3:23 PM PDT up reply actions
Also
Him coming to the NBA was solely about … challenging his basketball skills at the highest level, see how good an NBA player he could be.
And goes on to imply that the Blazers lied to him about giving him such an opportunity.
How does this make sense? Did they not challenge his basketball skills? Did they not see how good of a player he could be? Of course they did. He just flunked the test (well, got a B- maybe).
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
by pualo on Aug 18, 2010 12:41 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
i think the truth is probably somewhere in the middle
My guess is Rudy was “sold” a bit on what his role and opportunities here were going to be. I think it’s probably fair to say that we might have oversold that aspect. At the very least, it’s easy to see how he might think so.
I seem to recall Nate talking several times about how much more he wanted to get Rudy involved, but rarely ever saw it manifested in-game. Not saying Rudy got shafted here, but it’s not a stretch to understand how he thinks he didn’t get all the opportunities he thought he was promised.
"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
The thing is, it's not like this is the first time it's happened
When we heard similar things from Sergio (i.e. “I was ‘promised’ certain things, in terms of roles and that didn’t happen”), there was no real reason to think that it was anything but an issue with Sergio.
Then something similar happened with Andre, who had never had any real issues with coaches to my knowledge, complaining about being promised things in terms of roles and how he was betrayed by Nate’s use of him, and we wrote it off again.
Now that we’re hearing the same thing from Rudy, there’s really only one individual here common to each “spat”, and that’s Nate. Obviously many players we’ve had have not had any issues with Nate so it’s not like it should be a major issue, but it does seem like Nate has a little bit of an issue with miscommunication when discussing player roles here.
Each of these players should take most of the blame in the situations for reacting poorly, but, after the third such incident in less than 18 months, I find it hard to believe that these are all completely unrelated incidents of player petulance.
#52
by Royster on Aug 18, 2010 2:04 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
Sergio really couldn't play
As the Kings and the Knicks found out. Nate ended up adjusting to Andre when he figured out how good he is. Rudy got more leeway than any other bench player (my personal eye test) as far as staying on the court when he wasn’t playing well. He couldn’t produce to the level we needed him to. Sometimes when there’s a lot of talent and only 48 minutes and 1 ball these things happen. I don’t blame Nate for being in a tough position
truly think McMillan gave Rudy TONS of chances to do SOMETHING.
maybe it just seemed like he gave Rudy way more playing time because Rudy was playing so badly..every minute seemed LONGER… but I agree. I think Rudy got minutes. He may not have gotten the sets or whatever that he wanted but come on…
Rudy Fernandez should've been playing for a team that runs a ton of flex motion sets, ...
with coaches such as Rick Adelman and Jerry Sloan being two of the better stylistic fits. I’ll be curious to see what happens if Fernandez ends up with the Chicago Bulls, since I expect that offense to be pretty basic in its implementation by defensive-minded head coach Tom T.
I understand that
And I don’t mean to suggest he’s outright lying to guys or something, just more along the lines of overpromising things. If we can’t accomodate a player’s desires for a greater role/more minutes it’s probably better to be up front about it to them instead of telling them what they want to hear. It seems as if the common refrain from each of these guys is that they were betrayed, or that “promises weren’t kept”, etc. I doubt that we’d have seen such strong reactions if guys had been told how it was going to be up front.
I honestly don’t think it was malicious or intentional, just speculating that there’s a little too much of telling guys what they want to hear in order to make them happy rather than his true feelings. Maybe Rudy doesn’t sign with us if he isn’t told that we’re going to run our second unit offense with him and he’s going to see big minutes playing with Brandon, but if that’s what we told him, we should be prepared to make a solid effort to follow through on that instead of turning him into a run of the mill spot up shooter. Same with Dre and the possibility of starting Blake over him.
#52
Ok, I agree with that
Maybe a negative effect of KP’s eternal optimism? It will be interesting to see if this aspect changes going forward
Agree 100% with the overpromising theme, but with one caveat
You said above that there’s “only one individual here common to each ‘spat’ and that’s Nate,” but KP was on the scene as well. I bet McMillan’s pretty straightforward with the players, but it’s Pritchard who played the optimistic cheerleader role.
Fair enough
We really just don’t know either way. I wouldn’t be surprised to if KP had something to do with it, but I find it hard to believe that Nate is completely blameless here. I seem to remember every one of them meeting with him at least once or twice before they blew up, and it’s not like Nate wasn’t involved with the meetings wooing at least Dre and Rudy ( I don’t remember much about Sergio’s drafting).
At the very least, if that had been the case, I would have expected to hear about a whole lot more Nate/KP friction than we did.
#52
Miller was told he'd come off the bench and he still complained about it to the media later
There are basically three kinds of guys in the NBA in this regard.
There are the folks who want to prove people wrong and work on their game so they do prove folks wrong.
There are the guys who accept their criticism and whither or become a specialist.
There are the guys who are fine with their level of play and complain to the media when confronted with adversity.
I don't recall ever reading anything pre-last season stating that Miller was told he would come off the bench
it seemed to me he assumed (reasonably) and was never told otherwise, that he would be starting. Then when he didn’t, things went downhill. During late training camp, Nate talked a lot about how he wanted Andre to key the 2nd unit – but that was well after the damage was done. I’ve never seen any credible report that shows Miller was told he was coming off the bench BEFORE he signed with us. My recollection was it was quite the opposite likely.
"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
I don't have time to look it up now
I’ll prove you wrong tonight with a link. Miller was told by Nate at dinner in Las Vegas that he’d run the second unit.
i look forward to it
i remember Nate saying that much later – in December, that he had said that back in LV, which then turns into a he-said, he-said thing, as Miller said in December that he was never told that back in LV, and if he would have been he never would have signed with us.
Who is telling the truth? who knows…
"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
No, that's wrong timeline.
The talk about Andre Miller being in the second unit came at a later date.
I'm also pretty sure of the same
The first sign of Andre being in the second unit was Steve’s preserved status as starter in preseason, I think.
If there’s an old reference to his conversation with Nate, I’d be curious too.
glad to see I'm not the only one questioning this
a bit of revisionist history here, perhaps? Wouldn’t be the first time…
"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
Mike Barett wrote about it a few days after Dre was signed
Most people have assumed, since the Miller signing, that he’ll walk into training camp with the starting job in his back pocket. So, I asked McMillan if those people are correct. He also gave the popular answer of the evening- “no.” And, he actually took it a step further.
“I’ve talked to Andre about that,” said McMillan, and clearly this was addressed at the team’s meeting with Miller in Las Vegas. "I think starting is overrated. You try to get a starting unit that works, and a bench unit that works.
“Our starting unit last year won 54 games. We’re not going to mess with that starting unit,” McMillan continued. “I anticipate that we’ll start out the same way, with Brandon and Steve as our guards, and then bring Andre and Rudy as the guards off our bench. Bringing them in with Martell or Travis in that second unit, as more of a running unit, would be a good combination.”
http://mikebarrettsblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/mcmillans-options.html
Also interesting reading a year later: http://mikebarrettsblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/miller-time.html
by Corvid on Aug 18, 2010 4:57 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sweet Thanks
I thought it was in a quick chat and I figured I was going to have to listen to a few of those.
so no need to revise your revisionism
"its tough to play with one eye, unless you're a pirate." Delonte West
"una canasta a Pau en la cara" Rudy
by Honka Playboy on Aug 19, 2010 7:04 AM PDT up reply actions
Nate tipped his hand last offseason that Blake was going to be his starting PG
I remember doing a fanpost on it, at the time no one believed McMillian was really serious
At the Vegas dinner Nate probably told Andre that he would have the opportunity to compete for the starting job…even though McMillian had other lineup designs.
Roy and LMA were in Steve’s corner during preseason, as well
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
I don't care a bit about Andre Miller, Rudy Fernandez, or Sergio Rodriguez, but it's clear to me ...
after a decade that Nate McMillan is a dullard. Not only does he fail to communicate his coaching philosophy effectively to some of his players, I don’t even think that he fully grasps it himself — for I always laugh when he wants guys to run, even though they play in a down-tempo offense — which makes me shake my head in chagrin.
I, by the way, love slow-paced basketball; rather, it’s the simplicity of the high-low zone offense — which relies on stationary sets instead of motion, ball reversal instead of off ball movement, the inefficent pick-and-pop over the truly pro-style pick-and-roll, and repetitive 1-4 iso sets that are easy to coach against in crunch-time during the postseason — that makes me sick to my stomach of McMillan.
When you hear an individual like Jeff Van Gundy or Mike Fratello talk, they communicate in a direct, straightforward manner without hackneyed platitudes with no substances whatsoever like McMillan.
rec
Nate may very well be a good coach. Clearly is is a very good motivator. Equally as clear to me, given dozens of examples over the years, is that his communication style is at best ineffective and contradictory.
"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
On Fratello
Why is it that he never succeeded in the postseason, despite a decent amount of success in terms of regular season record? I don’t know much about the teams he coached but surely his system should have translated well into the postseason if it was based on defense and ball movement on offense (over-simplification I’m sure). I’m perplexed as to why a successful coach like Fratello never made it far in the postseason.
#11 | #7 | #9 | #15 | #52 | 2011 NBA Champion PDX Blazers
The Atlanta Hawks didn't have the interior scoring to get past Boston or Detroit in the ...
Eastern Conference Semifinals for three straight seasons from 1985-1986 through 1987-1988. Tree Rollins was specifically a defensive specialist, while backup Jon Koncak was trash. Kevin Willis and Dominique Wilkins were productive forwards — even though ‘Nique was a subpar defender — who had their fair share of inside scoring, although that wasn’t enough to beat some of those great Celtics and Pistons squads. By the time the Hawks got a two-way center in Moses Malone for the 1988-1989 and 1989-1990 seasons, they had a big guy who was way past his prime manning the middle and couldn’t compete with the elite teams of that era.
In that case I'd certainly welcome him here
Over Nate in any case. Since JVG is a pipe dream perhaps this is the most realistic candidate. Of course with Nate apparently having a lot of pull with the highers ups, he may just be here in perpetuity, ensuring we remain mediocre.
#11 | #7 | #9 | #15 | #52 | 2011 NBA Champion PDX Blazers
I think it's unfair to McMillan.
Admittedly there has been issues with Rudy, Sergio and Andre, but couldn’t these issues have been the players problem – i.e. they wanted more than what the coach wanted to give them. I know there have been ‘claims’ that things were promised but it’s not fair to judge McMillan without hearing his side. I think he really tries to help these pouting players, and I think the way he handled Andre was really good and shows a lot of maturity and humility, and even though it was a little messy, he basically sacrificed Blake for Miller (even though some might say that Blake was a better fit at the point for this team).
I think that maybe McMillan’s tough exterior or reputation as ‘the sarge’ could hinder his relationship with players who have a tough time approaching authority figures. The players (maybe wrongly) feel that the balance of power is so much against them that the only form of leverage they have is pouting or communicating with the press.
As for McMillan, I can’t really fault the guy too much after what he has done with the club, and although we’ve yet to make it to the second round, I think he has done an amazing job with the personnel so far.
As for Rudy, I think Bayless passed him on the depth chart and has made Rudy our 3rd string shooting guard. In that case, I don’t mind our 3rd string shooting guard not playing. I think it’s sad, because Rudy could have been so much more, but I think he only wants to play his style, and wasn’t willing to adjust for the team, and the team is bigger than any one player.
by simoninaustralia on Aug 18, 2010 6:40 PM PDT up reply actions
hmm...good point.
Rec’ed.
"I think he’s been doing some good things. I think he’s been doing some good things. He’s had to play a lot of minutes lately with Blake being out. I think he’s been doing some good things." -Nate McMillan
What's with blaming everything on Nate?
Rudy is the newcomer. Yes, in a perfect world, the Blazers system would play to his strengths. But, the world isn’t perfect and probably, the Blazers system designed by Nate didn’t fit Rudy perfectly. However, as the new comer, it’s Rudy’s job to try to adapt to they system, not the other way around. An NBA head coach can’t be everything to every player.
by thevupster777 on Aug 19, 2010 1:32 AM PDT up reply actions
Does this sound like I'm blaming everything on Nate?
Each of these players should take most of the blame in the situations for reacting poorly, but, after the third such incident in less than 18 months, I find it hard to believe that these are all completely unrelated incidents of player petulance.
The alternative explanation is that we just happened to acquire three of the most petulant players in the league, and the organization is completely flawless here. There’s nothing inherently wrong with playing a Roy-centric, iso heavy, slow paced offense, but if you’re planning on doing that and then tell/promise guys that you’re planning on running a fast paced motion offense that involves them more, should we be surprised when they get mad? I honestly don’t know what was said here, but if we can’t/won’t follow through on PT/roles, then misleading guys about it will only lead to bigger blow-ups like this later.
#52
Now that we’re hearing the same thing from Rudy, there’s really only one individual here common to each "spat", and that’s Nate.
Actually the other thing we have in common here is also agent Andy Miller. Its sounds more and more to me that Andy Miller comes from the same drama-laden philosophy that Drew Rosenhaus in the NFL subscribes to as a strategy to leverage for his clients.
The problem is that in a recessionary environment that strategy is less effective for getting what you want.
Getting a starting spot in the playoffs of the most competitive league in the world
I’m not sure how much more of an opportunity you could possibly get.
Portland could coast along with their superior talent and stay right with us. Now that Portland woke up, the hammer cometh down.
Bayless > Daffy Duck after 3 cans of rockstar
by Batumshakalaka on Aug 18, 2010 3:27 PM PDT up reply actions
Why, oh why, did fans go cheer him at the airport when he arrived?
He must have thought he was the new Beatles.
That’s what we get for judging his basketball skills on a single lucky dunk in the Olympics.
Damn you, Jareth. And damn me too.
If what I just commented turns out to be wrong, please delete from all memory.
This was my favorite part.
“When Rudy came to the NBA, he was at that point certainly the No. 1 player in Spain and one of the top players in the NBA.”
So he was one of the top players in the NBA before he even played a game as a rookie? Oook..
"You know, when you are in the game, you hear 20,000 people behind you, you don't feel anything."
- Nicolas Batum on playing through his shoulder injury during the 2010 playoffs.
Oh wow I can't believe I didn't notice that the first time through.
Sorry, I’ll go away now.
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
Someone should tell paulo about that quote
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
by dan_the_man on Aug 18, 2010 12:44 PM PDT up reply actions
Rudy's agent...
…is also Andre’s agent. Can there be any repercussions for the Blazers and ’Dre’s relationship as a result of that fact?
I was going to say
“Not id=f the guy is a good agent.” Unfortunately, it seems that train has sailed for Andy Miller.
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
by dan_the_man on Aug 18, 2010 12:45 PM PDT up reply actions
Don't even have to be that general
You can narrow it down to anyone with the name “And* Miller”
#52
Too bad to see an agent
adopt a scorched earth tactic. You;d think he would recognize that the team is in the position of power here and it would be in Rudy’s best interest to just tone things down (a lot) and see what Cho can do to move him. If he get’s the team in a bad situation, it’s only going to be worse for Rudy.
"I'm a man, but I can change.....if I have to......I guess." - Red Green
Agreed
I’m a Redskinds fan, and this is pretty similar to what Albert Haynesworth did this offseason. And now he’s back at practice for the team he thought he was holding hostage. Athletes under contract have NO leverage in these situations, no matter what they or their agents think.
Moot point anyway, since he's probably too exhausted from taking the fitness test
5,000 times to play football this season.
:)
I thought it was funny that he, a professional athlete, told Shanahan he’d never been made to run 300 yards as a pro.
nothing funny about that. How many times is he asked to run more than 30 yards on any given play? It’s stupid to ask a 400 pound man to run 300 yards.
GOP in HD
He couldn't stay on the field last year even when he WAS healthy
I’m all for anything that helps our $100 million investment play more than 2/3 of our defensive snaps this year. I agree he’ll never have to run 300 yards in one play, but in a hurry up situation or against a team that doesn’t huddle you can bet he’ll have to run that far in full pads without coming off the field.
Rudy wanted to test his skills at the highest level...
Well he has…
And he has been weighed, he has been measured, and he has been found wanting.
Rudyculous
If what I just commented turns out to be wrong, please delete from all memory.
by NBAstard on Aug 18, 2010 12:51 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I want this guy gone so bad
It almost makes me sick, matter of fact I smashed my rudy wells fargo bobble head a few days ago. I kept the head as a trophy and now it sits on the shelf, just the head as a reminder of where rudys head has been for the last two years…..
by przybillafan2001 on Aug 18, 2010 12:56 PM PDT reply actions
The Bulls will take him
Togehter with a 2nd round draft pick… ;)
Yikes. From the end of the article
When asked if he would go as far as to advice Fernandez not to show up for training camp, Miller answered: "Possibly."
I just looked up Andy Miller. He’s one of the biggest agents in the NBA. And this is really how he does business?
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
I would assume
that when an agent says the situation is irreparable, it means that this is 100% the player’s decision.
Rudy's in playing basketball for Spain right now isn't he?
Brings a red flag out for me when an agent is talking for a player who isn’t even in the country at the time.
Portland could coast along with their superior talent and stay right with us. Now that Portland woke up, the hammer cometh down.
Bayless > Daffy Duck after 3 cans of rockstar
by Batumshakalaka on Aug 18, 2010 3:29 PM PDT up reply actions
The agent is echoing almost verbatim what Rudy has been saying in his own interviews
The only difference is the bit about missing training camp.
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
Indiana, NY, NJ, and maybe Sacramento seem to be his best options for starting at SG
I hope the Blazers wait until after the world championships when his value will be up again after showcasing his skills in a system that suits him and where he gets featured as a top 3 scorer alongside Gasol and Navarro (and assisted by Rubio). Or until the deadline if no good offer comes in and they can make a bigger package somewhere. Until then, this PR problem won’t go away anyway and won’t impact his trade value one way or another since everybody and his brother in the league knows he wants out. Just let it be.
"Listening to the media only increases your odds of failing at whatever you are doing" - Mark Cuban
Yep, agreed.
Since it’s clear that the Blazers aren’t going to dump Rudy but actually want to get some value back, it’s foolish of his agent to do things like this that make him edge closer to completely untradeable too.
You can measure skill and talent with your eyes, but productivity is shown through statistics.
"My client is excited to play with any team that he is a part of, but we are always interested in exploring new opportunities."
Might have been nice.
by idoltime on Aug 18, 2010 1:01 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
or even a generic
“Conversations are ongoing.”
"both teams played hard"
Anything but this would make more sense. I don’t know if poisoning the well is really the move that’s going to get Rudy a positive result.
haha
I think it’s clear – for the agent to have a payday, and for Rudy to have a payday, he needs to put up numbers. It’s not important if he’s productive or the team wins games. In two years, come negotiations time, he needs to point to a figure and say “17.6 points per game, 4.5 assists” or whatever it is. Selling “his value doesn’t show up in the scoresheet” is much tougher than the numbers that do show up.
His comments actually lower Rudy’s value, in terms of what we can get for a trade. He doesn’t want to play for Portland, so we have less leverage in demanding players in return, since what we’re holding has zero present value to us, other teams can use that as leverage. This in fact lowers his market value in trade, which means more teams can afford the price, which means its more likely that Rudy ends up somewhere where he can get his numbers, and perhaps with a front-office that values those things moreso than Portland does. It’s a win-win for Rudy and his agent, and I can’t blame them – he’s zealously representing the financial interests of his client. Athletes don’t have agents so they can end up in the HOF, they have them to protect their financial interests away from the teams interests. So none of this is especially suprising. Only in America, with it’s militaristic sporting tradition that asks players to subjugate themselves to the team and the coaching staff does this not express itself like it does in Europe, where sport is a professional job just like many of us have. We go to the highest bidder and have almost zero employer loyalty, so I don’t think Rudy and his agent are doing anything wrong.
M, period. Fresh, comma.
by manzell on Aug 18, 2010 7:27 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Sure wish I'd been a fly on the wall during some of those early Kevin Pritchard/Rudy Fernandez conversations
I’m sure KP had quite a sales pitch going.
No doubt
I mean Rudy is an effective player in certain situations but he has glaring holes in his game that prevent him from being used more often, especially in the Blazers system. He played like doo-doo this past season so all of this drama from his agent illicits a very negative response.
Garden Variety Internet Denizen. Play Jerryd Bayless.
WORD UP.STAY.FRESCO
all this talk about rudy's opinion of himself is not the real issue.
the issue is that portland’s management enticed him with a large role and used the old bait-and-switch.
"I've hacked into your brain. You're throwing a party and no one's showing up."
But if his performance in a lesser role is subpar
And then his performance in a larger role is even worse, how is this bait-and-switch? There should be no guaranteed roles. It should always be based on performance. Rudy’s performance didn’t merit a bigger role.
agreed to an extent
Rudy is a streaky player and also appears to be someone who has to be on the court for stretches for his value to really max out – he needs to “feel” his way into a game. Far too often it seemed he would get the old yankaroo a bit early if he didn’t make something happen right away – which just made the whole things worse. He’s not a microwave instant punch off the bench guy – he’s more like Martell in that he can produce given consistent stretches of minutes. Rudy might go 5 minutes and be almost invisible, but then make a couple steals, some 3’s and alley-oop and two nifty assists in the next 2 minutes. If you don’t let him stay on the floor, then those 2 minutes never come and he’s right back where he started when he comes back in again.
Not saying he should have gotten more time with us. Just saying this is the type of player he is, and his value will only be maximized given consistent stretches of play without worry of getting pulled. This is not the team for 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
nate mcmillan said as much in an interview recently
he knew precisely the kind of player he is. and he sabotaged him.
"I've hacked into your brain. You're throwing a party and no one's showing up."
Yes, he sabotaged Rudy
In order to win games. Nate’s job is to win games, not help Rudy fulfill his boyhood dreams of being the Michael Jordan of Spain. If Rudy isn’t getting it done offensively, while often being a liability defensively, why shouldn’t Nate go with Jerryd, Webster, or even Dante instead? Even if those guys aren’t getting it done offensively on a given night, they aren’t liabilities defensively the way Rudy is. When Rudy isn’t on offensively, giving him minutes comes at a much higher premium. You can’t blame Nate for deciding against that premium and going with a more productive player.
Another explanation.
Brandon Roy is a better basketball player than Rudy Fernandez. Both are shooting guards.
Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
Every player is like that
Name one player who wouldn’t play better with consistent playing time.
you're missing my point
there are some players that can produce comparably (or even better) in short minutes as they do in long minutes. or even in shorter “bursts” of minutes as opposed to long stretches. Dante does this pretty well. Outlaw was this type of player too.
There are other players who need to get into the flow of the game for awhile before their full impact is reached. This is Rudy. He hasn’t and won’t have that type of role here.
"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
Or for any winning NBA team
At his best I would still argue that Rudy shouldn’t start for your team if you want to make noise in the playoffs
depends on who the other 4 starters are
put him on a team with a stud PG, a good defensive SF, and a postup presence at the PF or C spot, and he could be a credible starter on a playoff team. He’d give you shooting, run the court, make some nifty passes in transition, and a couple of steals.
Chicago for example. He’d look pretty good in a lineup with Rose, Deng, and Boozer.
"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
Channing Frye is the latter type.
But he’s still not as good as Lamarcus Aldridge.
Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
Name one player who would not get consistant playing time if they played better
_________________________________________
If "It's Only a Game", then why do we keep score?
Bonzi Wells, Tracy McGrady, Ha, to name a few
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((o))
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irrelevant
a promise is a promise.
"I've hacked into your brain. You're throwing a party and no one's showing up."
Sorry Brandon
We know you rock and all, but a promise is a promise. We need to yank you, Batum, and Miller so Rudy can get his big role fulfill his personal goals.
Bayless knows that song and dance
1959 regular season minutes in 2 years for a healthy lottery pick? Brutal
but Sergio and Rudy had to play, ya know
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
This is the NBA
No one owes Rudy a damn thing. You don’t just walk in like you deserve whatever you want. You take what you are given and you do the best you can with it. This sense of entitlement is BS, regardless of what he was told. If he has a problem he can ride out his contract and move on, or he can ask for a trade. This is beyond asking for a trade at this point, this is ridiculous.
by Afish23 on Aug 18, 2010 1:32 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
the Blazers are the ones acting as if they can do whatever they like
Fernandez is giving them a taste of their own medicine
"I've hacked into your brain. You're throwing a party and no one's showing up."
it's not indentured servitude
in exchange for the role he had in mind + salary, he entered into a contract with them.
that was the incentive for coming over. that was the reason he sacrificed millions to play basketball here.
the blazers look like crooks.
"I've hacked into your brain. You're throwing a party and no one's showing up."
He knew what he was getting into
Brandon Roy was already on the team, he was going to have to be truly special to get 30+ mins a game on this team. He wasn’t, and he didn’t.
The Blazers can make promises they don't intend to keep or enforce.
Rudy should have known that’s what he’d be getting into.
"I've hacked into your brain. You're throwing a party and no one's showing up."
If he was drafted higher
He would make more money. Portland’s got nothing to do with that. Maybe Rudy shouldn’t have signed the original deal in Spain that required a buyout.
And really, was the role guaranteed in the contract? Somehow, I doubt it. And please, don’t use the indentured servitude analogy for millionaire athlete’s contracts. Signing a contract guaranteeing you several million dollars is never a bad thing.
come on
he would have had made more money if he had stayed in europe. fact.
portland has everything to do with him taking less money. they enticed him with a big role.
it was a verbal agreement, one the blazers did not honor.
and so what if he’s a millionaire? that doesn’t make what the blazers did any less crooked.
"I've hacked into your brain. You're throwing a party and no one's showing up."
Do you know what role was promised?
I don’t. I’d love to hear it.
Rudy has been getting around 25mpg. That’s a healthy role on the team. It’s not starter minutes, but everyone in the world knew that Rudy was going to be playing behind Brandon. Even so, Rudy is getting a lot of minutes outside of backup sg.
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
Nobody forced him to come to Portland. Fact.
And you don’t know what was promised to Rudy. This is all coming from Rudy’s side. There’s two sides to every story, yet you’ve placed all credulity in what Rudy has said. You don’t don’t even know if there was a verbal agreement.
Remember Andre Miller said he was guaranteed starting spot, while Nate and KP said nothing of the sort was discussed. Two sides to every story.
And no matter what was promised, Nate’s going to play his best players. Roy, Miller, and Batum are better than Rudy. Fact. If Rudy really deserved a bigger role, he’d play better than one of those three players. He hasn’t. Therefore, he doesn’t deserve more minutes than any of them.
by mas1983 on Aug 18, 2010 2:41 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
nobody forced all of Madoff's clients to to invest in his fund.
but had they known it was a pyramid scheme, they probably would have looked someplace else.
rudy’s agent lays out a plausible explanation for his client’s protestations. it doesn’t make sense that he’d come over to be a back-up and give up millions. is rudy irrational?
There are rookies in the league who aren’t as good as some other players on the bench. But coaches will play them anyway so they can acquire the experience they need to contribute in real and meaningful ways down the road. Good coaches sacrifice wins for championships.
And McMillan has already said he knows what type of player Fernandez is, and that he needs touches to get into a rhythm. What did he do? Puts him in an uncomfortable position, while management keeps adding ball-dominant perimeter players to play alongside him.
What if Nate made Batum defend centers and powerforwards? If he gets sealed under the basket by a 280 lb 7footer, what do you say to him? You’re not good enough? You’re lucky you’re getting minutes as it is? Don’t complain?
Why did the blazers draft Rudy in the first place? For his defense?
"I've hacked into your brain. You're throwing a party and no one's showing up."
Haha! You're comparing an NBA contract with Bernie Madoff's pyramid scheme?
Let’s just let that one go.
So you think the Blazers promised Rudy a starting spot? Who should he start over? Roy, Miller, or Batum? Why should those guys sacrifice minutes for Rudy? Why is Rudy more deserving of a larger role than those guys?
If Rudy was all that, why did the team feel like it had to add ball handlers? Maybe cause Rudy isn’t all that? Maybe he’s not the next Manu, as fans and scouts mistakenly believed?
And you’re saying the way Rudy was mishandled is kin to Nate playing Batum at center? Please.
The Blazers traded bought Rudy and James Jones from Phoenix cause for cash. Simple OKC-esque deal of trading cap space for assets.
Technically, Bernie Madolf operated a Ponzi scheme. An example ...
of a pyramid scheme is multi-level marketing company like Amway.
by AK1984 on Aug 18, 2010 5:20 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Coaches have to help win games too
They can afford to give rookies playing time to let them acquire experience but in a game that matters, you can’t fault the coach for going with the good players.
I’m already sounding like a broken record. Coaches can’t be everything to every player. As far as I’m concerned, Rudy came to the Blazers and it was his responsibility to learn the ropes and adapt to the system to a certain extent. He shouldn’t expect the system to adapt to him. If he likes to run but the system isn’t built for running, he should find a way to use his skills to fit the system. The Blazers are building around a core that includes Roy, Aldridge, Batum, and Oden. Any coach is going to try to design an offense that plays to the strengths of his core players.
by thevupster777 on Aug 18, 2010 9:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Seriously, ignore this jack he is nothing but a L*ker troll
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((o))
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Booooo
I guarantee rudy was not promised anything. Nate is not the type of coach to give promises, he is the type to tell players they have opportunities. Rudy had the opportunity to grab significant playing time IF he played well. He didn’t play well so he didn’t get time. I’m sure Rudy took it as a guarantee of playing time given his view of himself, but in reality he did not preform well enough to justify a significant role on the team.
by jervil on Aug 18, 2010 3:25 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
He had a large role
He was playing behind Brandon and still got 25 mpg his rookie year. The coaching staff worked the rotations to give him playing time. What could he have expected? He’s not built to play major minutes at sf in the NBA, and he doesn’t have the skill set to play pg. He can’t be delusional enough to think the team’s best player should play out of position for him. Or can he?
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
No, he can't
which is why he wants to change teams. He knows it’s not realistic to expect more here, but he knows he needs more to be effective. a change of team seems to be the only solution.
"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
Getting minutes is not same as a defined role
Pure speculation here,but if Rudy was told the team saw him in a Ginobili role,coming off the bench,getting the ball and making plays and then for whatever reason saw his actual role being limited to spot-up shooter,then the minutes wouldn’t matter,the role he was actually doing versus what he was “promised” would become a huge deal to him.
Re the agent killing value. Possibly. But also possible that team Rudy saw the Blazers asking for waaaay too much and by saying he’ll sit out is forcing the Blazers to lower their demands just so they can get something for Rudy. Much easier to start a bidding war from a low offer than from one obviously too high.
That's a good point...
I would hate it if he kept on lowering his trade value until we took back something that we really didn’t want, just to get rid of Rudy- sort of like our acquisition of Steve Francis, who we just bought out, in that case it would be like buying Rudy out. I guess the size of his contract makes it not such a bad one to leave rotting on the bench.
by simoninaustralia on Aug 18, 2010 6:56 PM PDT up reply actions
We won't take back a negative asset
at worst we will buy Rudy out of his contract
by billsfan4life on Aug 18, 2010 8:00 PM PDT up reply actions
I've seen Rudy with the ball in his hands and he will never be Ginobili, he just isn't very good off the dribble
I think the Blazers would love it if Rudy could come off the bench and make plays, but Rudy isn’t that kind of player. He can do a lot of nice things in the flow of an offense, he can find the open player, pass the ball into the post, hit an open shot, and attack the rim if nobody is in front of him. But he isn’t going to score one on one or beat someone off the dribble and create an open shot for someone else. He isn’t the player we wanted him to be.
This offense might not be the best for Rudy but a good player can be effective in any NBA offense. Rudy is just making a bunch of lame excuses.
by billsfan4life on Aug 18, 2010 8:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Andy Miller is a joke
Let’s look at two of his clients. First, Rudy Fernandez, who dreamt of
challenging his basketball skills at the highest level, [to] see how good an NBA player he could be.When those dreams met the harsh reality that Rudy wasn’t as good an NBA player as he thought he might be, he pouted and demanded a trade. True, his situation might not be ideal, but what NBA player’s is?
Take a look at another Andy Miller client, Andre Miller. Miller came to an even less ideal situation. A fast break player playing on a rigid, half-court team. A backcourt mate with non-complimentary skills. Sporadic minutes. Multitudinous injuries forcing him to frequently change roles, from bench energizer, to one-of-three ball handlers, back to bench energizer, then to starting point, then to go-to-guy, then back to starting point, then again go-to-guy in the playoffs, etc. And aside from a little (might, I add understandable) midseason pouting, Miller adjusted and played phenomenally for the Blazers, losing little in production from his peak Philly years. He was the team’s anchor. When he was on the court, everything ran more smoothly. I imagine with a steady role and minutes, Miller could be even better next year.
Rudy is a good player, but he’s not a star. He needs to get over himself and accept his role. I seem to remember seeing him the handle the ball quite a bit last year. Sometimes he’d hit a homerun with a nifty pass or whatever, but more often the play would end in a turnover or last-second desperation heave. When Rudy was handling the ball, the offense seemed timid and disorganized. Rudy’s surgery certainly threw him off, but his role didn’t change nearly as a much as Miller’s did, and he already had a year’s experience in Nate McMillan’s system.
Really, what does it say to Rudy that teams are reluctant to give up even a late-first round pick for him? Is it really all of Portland’s fault that his market value is so low?
by mas1983 on Aug 18, 2010 1:02 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs
that's why we were able to get so much trade value out of him!
a 1st round pick! woohoo!
Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.
Remember the Marc Spears article on Andre last winter?
MIller wasn’t too happy with his role back then, either
Too much talent at teh same position can be a problem. Consolidation trades shouldn’t be left on the back burner to simmer
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Hey Rudy
Play some defense, quit turning the ball over, and you’ll get more time to shine. Learn the playbook, not just the backdoor cut and transition three, and you’ll have more opportunities to show what you can do. The best players in the league do more than shoot open threes.
It's Chris Paul's signature shot.
Works fine for him. Rudy doesn’t really have the build to take it hard to the rim, so if he’s going to be successful on the drive he needs to get creative.
It’s a fine shot if it goes in. Rudy’s didn’t this past year. But it’s a perfectly reasonable thing for him to try to add to his game.
Chris Paul MAKES his teardrops
I agree he should try and add it, but when it clearly wasn’t working in game situations he should have shelved it ’til the offseason
Tony Parker does it too
But instead of making 20% of them, he makes like 50% of them. Chris Paul too. Those guys are great a finishing at the rim in other ways too.
Rudy, on the other hand, can’t finish at the rim, especially if there’s contact, so instead of trying to remedy that, he develops a flashy, inefficient move.
yep, how soon we all forget his rookie year
shame on us if we all agree
I’d meet BRP at the airport, not flee!! - fanfaraway
by broyposse on Aug 18, 2010 2:50 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
He's a great athlete
But Webster, Roy, Aldridge, Batum, Dante, Jerryd, Oden, etc., could all finish similar plays.
I was talking about of the dribble. Not back door cuts with a point guard he obviously had great chemistry with.
I understand your point about the dribble drive
but I have to say that some of Rudy’s touches on alley oops were truly world class. He showed that he could make great plays when moving without the ball. A major mystery is why he didn’t get more of those opportunities last year. Yes, Sergio was gone, but Miller and others could certainly have set him up.
#52
No doubt, I loved the oops Rudy threw down
I think what happened was two things
1. Sergio left. Running that play successfully requires tremendous trust and chemistry which Miller/Blake/Bayless couldn’t replace.
2. Teams scouted Rudy’s tendencies and took away that option.
Combined, this is what led to less massive oop throw downs. Maybe if Sergio stayed, they’d still connect regularly, but I think teams learned to expect that play.
not the catch the lob and flip it up no-look reverse and it goes in
those were pretty sweet
but catch the back door pass, gather yourself, power up and dunk while being fouled is an impressive move, as well
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
We should give him the KP treatment...
make him watch the games from the tunnel.
i don’t blame Moody too much…there’s a good chance KP over promised the situation along with KP not seeing eye to eye with Nate.
I’d meet BRP at the airport, not flee!! - fanfaraway
twss
I’d meet BRP at the airport, not flee!! - fanfaraway
by broyposse on Aug 18, 2010 1:15 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I think it a safe bet that the rookies who want Rudy's minutes are not bummed about this
His agent needs a brain transplant
by southern oregon on Aug 18, 2010 1:18 PM PDT reply actions
OMSW
“how terribly unfortunate” Followed by “Inconcievable!”
Portland could coast along with their superior talent and stay right with us. Now that Portland woke up, the hammer cometh down.
Bayless > Daffy Duck after 3 cans of rockstar
by Batumshakalaka on Aug 18, 2010 3:36 PM PDT up reply actions
Rudy is like that cute girl from a small town
who got all the attention, but after moving to the big city realized she was 6 or 7 instead of a 10.
by JasonT on Aug 18, 2010 1:22 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs
...and now she hates the big city and wants to move home where she is the prettiest?
..Great analogy!
by 1ofthe7 on Aug 18, 2010 1:29 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
But it will never be the same, little Rudina!
Now that you know you aren’t the Goddess you thought you were.
Tinkerbell, Tinkerbell? Wherefor art thou Tinkerbell?
Ah, there you are are Sergio.
Born Naked
oh he's definitely still a 10+
loveisrespect
by portlandgiirl91 on Aug 18, 2010 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions
one of the top players in the NBA
seriously?
kObe iS thE aNtiChRiSt
by Brendan Holladay on Aug 18, 2010 1:32 PM PDT reply actions
everyone needs to get over this quote
it was an obvious misquote or typo. What was meant was that he was one of the “top players NOT in the NBA”, which is absolutely true. That word somehow got left out.
Let’s move on
"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 Aug 18, 2010 1:36 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
There is a local term for Rudy's condition
He has a 2 ton ego on a 1/2 ton frame
by southern oregon on Aug 18, 2010 1:38 PM PDT reply actions
oooo...JQ on the radio saying this is the drama
“Rudy will not report and sit out the remainder of his contract”
wake me in 2011
the only question is whether that is 1 more season or 2
since we can pick up the team option for 2011-12 and really stick the screws to him
"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
i can't see him sitting out 2 years
that’s insane
"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
its his only card to play
but if we call his bluff and pick up the 2011-12 option, he’s going to have to come crawling back at some point.
"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
he stated
agent is pushing for “amicable” solution, but if not he will sit out
wake me in 2011
That's what I thought when I read this
Like a torturer putting the screws in while saying “why cant be friends?”
Portland could coast along with their superior talent and stay right with us. Now that Portland woke up, the hammer cometh down.
Bayless > Daffy Duck after 3 cans of rockstar
by Batumshakalaka on Aug 18, 2010 3:38 PM PDT up reply actions
maybe he can do color commentary on Spanish broadcasts
like coaches do, in-between jobs
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
Not sure how NBA contracts work
But I assume that if he doesn’t even show up, he doesn’t get paid. Is that correct?
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
to add onto that, in order for everything to work, FIBA has to honor the NBA's rules
and the NBA has to honor FIBA’s rules, otherwise players get stolen and it all goes to hell. So Rudy can’t just walk out and play for any europe teams.
Portland could coast along with their superior talent and stay right with us. Now that Portland woke up, the hammer cometh down.
Bayless > Daffy Duck after 3 cans of rockstar
by Batumshakalaka on Aug 18, 2010 3:40 PM PDT up reply actions
Let him out of his contract and be done with it....
Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.
No that is like rewarding a spoiled kid for throwing a tantrum
by southern oregon on Aug 18, 2010 1:44 PM PDT up reply actions 3 recs
you have to look at this from a business side...
can’t send a bad message to european players.
Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.
Cho inherited this mess but he cannot afford to look like a push over
by southern oregon on Aug 18, 2010 1:55 PM PDT up reply actions
But Cho has over-valued Rudy's trade value
I think signing WM made a trade inevitable. At that point, you take the best offer on the table. You hate to sell low on Rudy, but the Blazers (with a lot of help from Rudy & his agent) created the zero leverage situation.
by 52therim on Aug 18, 2010 2:02 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
I was all in favor of dumping him for the best pick we could get on draft day
by southern oregon on Aug 18, 2010 2:08 PM PDT up reply actions
I was in favor of flipping him for a lot more than that
12 months ago
Really, who didn’t see this coming?
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
those who see things with their hearts and not their heads
too many people refuse to see the obvious because the WISH it wasn’t so.
"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
look at it from the other side
if you let a player and his agent walk all over you, what’s going to prevent the next disgruntled player from doing the same thing?
not an easy choice, Rudy and his agent have poisoned the well
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
To hell with Rudy...
How can you be a top player if you lack toughness and can’t create your own shot?
rec
I just moved to Boise and would just love watching him tear up the D-league every night. It might actually be the perfect league to showcase his talent… All running, no defense
Not possible under CBA rules
"Listening to the media only increases your odds of failing at whatever you are doing" - Mark Cuban
I'm Captain Literal/Logical ;)
"Listening to the media only increases your odds of failing at whatever you are doing" - Mark Cuban
Congratulations Captain
You are now promoted to Major Literal/Logical
Portland could coast along with their superior talent and stay right with us. Now that Portland woke up, the hammer cometh down.
Bayless > Daffy Duck after 3 cans of rockstar
by Batumshakalaka on Aug 18, 2010 3:42 PM PDT up reply actions
Not justifying Rudy's (or his agent's) comments/actions...
but, in light of “communication” issues within the Blazer’s organization in the recent past (particularly McMillian and his inability to communicate clearly with his players a la Miller, Roy, etc…) I must admit I’m not shocked to hear that Rudy may have been promisde one thing and then been given another.
I’m not defending Rudy at all. He’s had his opportunities to shine (kind of) and not lived up to expectations; however, let’s face it, McMillian’s coaching style is the antithesis to Rudy’s style of basketball and it has hurt his value.
~OV
Nate's coaching style
appears to be the antithesis of a lot of things.
Area man just saying.
Rudy is going to have special on La Marca TV to announce his decision
by southern oregon on Aug 18, 2010 1:52 PM PDT reply actions 5 recs
"I'm taking my talents to the Jersey shore"
“If this doesn’t work out, my second option is the Manzanares” (the river that runs through Madrid).
"Listening to the media only increases your odds of failing at whatever you are doing" - Mark Cuban
Why do you guys hate Rudy?
down with the man! go Rudy!
#TeamMoody
I’d meet BRP at the airport, not flee!! - fanfaraway
ahahahahaha
Right. You know it’s bad when I, ME, BIGGEST RUDY FAN EVER can’t stand him anymore.
#moodyfernandez
i blame Nate…every year we will have a new Moody until we get a new coach
I’d meet BRP at the airport, not flee!! - fanfaraway
That's a function of the times, not Nate
Agents, contracts, fans, twitter…it all fuels players emotions and knee-jerk thinking these days. This isn’t a Nate problem, it’s a Rudy problem. If he could defend Betty White driving to the basket we wouldn’t be in this mess….
Wait! I thought we were supposed to blame KP!?
I swear, I’ll never get this blame stuff figured out.
Almost every team has a player kinda like this
But most cities have other sports teams to distract them in the offseason
by momomoses7 on Aug 18, 2010 2:00 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I heard Medmelon will get free tickets to the Spain - USA test game. After all, he's Nate's only fan in Spain.
"Listening to the media only increases your odds of failing at whatever you are doing" - Mark Cuban
Can we do a 30-minute ESPN special on this?
Of course his NBA highlights would only take about 3 minutes…
What a weak person
I think that we should bench Rudy because anyone who catches one glimpse of adversity during a season and decides to quit and then cry about how hard life is, has no place on a championship team. A weak minded shooter has no place in the NBA. A team shouldn’t have to hold a players hand and tell him everything will he fine, every five minutes. For god sakes, Rudy needs to grow a pair or find a new profession because basketball isn’t a game for crybabies.
by PortlandPhil on Aug 18, 2010 2:01 PM PDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs
anyone who catches one glimpse of adversity during a season and decides to quit and then cry about how hard life is, has no place on a championship team
This^
Still, it’s too bad the Blazers took so long to see through Rudy’s act
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
except Sergio, Channing, Andre, LMA/Broy, etc
all these guys whine…Rudy just happens to be less subtle
I’d meet BRP at the airport, not flee!! - fanfaraway
I must say I admire your willingness to take on nearly the entirety of the Bedge on this issue.
#52
by CatMan2 on Aug 18, 2010 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Except BRoy, LMA, and Andre have the skills to back it up
If what I just commented turns out to be wrong, please delete from all memory.
Personally, the whole situation is disappointing to me but
I don’t see the point of heaping on the hate. Rudy’s life and career are his own, and he’s got to make decisions he can live with.
#52
Rudy has made a number of decisons he is going to have to live with
He could have stayed in Spain and made more money,he could have hired a non-moran agent and he could his kept his mouth shut, I dont hate the guy but he is the one who has to live with his choices and I want what is best for my team,not what is best for Rudy
by southern oregon on Aug 18, 2010 2:31 PM PDT up reply actions
He could have stayed in Spain and made more money
Actually, the big offer Rudy had on the table back in 2008 was from CSKA. I think they’re a Russian team. Norsk will surely correct me if I’m mistaken
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
They are
Though he likely could have and still can also make more by signing with one of the more affluent clubs in Spain, especially Barcelona (his spot blocked by Navarro though), Madrid, Caja Laboral (the club that just lost Splitter), or to some extent the Freeland club Malaga or Claver’s Valencia.
I currently don’t think he wants to sign in Greece. Only 2 top teams that could pay him (Olympiakos and Panathinaikos, both in Athens), and after bloody violence and an aborted final series with flares flying on the floor almost all top international players have left the league in disgust, e.g. Childress and Kleiza.
"Listening to the media only increases your odds of failing at whatever you are doing" - Mark Cuban
it's too bad Portland can't just swing a deal with one of those FIBA/Euro teams
especially if they have a player on their roster that the Blazer’s covet
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
i, too, am surprised at the hate. what if he were a 'lebron' caliber player?
I thought portlanders were more understanding. Yes, it sucks, and rudy is acting immature, but, like lebron, he is free to do what he wants. The main difference is rudy is under contract, lebron wasn’t, and rudy should honor the contract.
by 1ofthe7 on Aug 19, 2010 2:43 PM PDT via mobile up reply actions
Moody is still a Blazer so I must defend him…plus, he’s not doing anything half our guys have already done in the past.
Broy talking through his agent during contract negotiations, LMA whining about being a 3rd banana, Dre whining about people saying he’s fat, Batum whining about doing the Portland, Bayless whining about his short arms, etc
Bayless has demanded more than Moody…its just we haven’t heard it in public much…
plus a bit is lost in translation too…Rudy’s english is piss poor. i overheard him tell his agent, “i just want to play more.” and then said agent replied, “you want to trade tomorrow? ok, lets do this”
I’d meet BRP at the airport, not flee!! - fanfaraway
Bayless whining about his short arms, etc
Bayless has demanded more than Moody…its just we haven’t heard it in public much…
Sure we haven’t, because…Jerryd hasn’t
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, but in this case the grease is on the skids
When reached 40 years of following Portland basketball you have, be as passionate of the Trail Blazers you will not!
We might want to take this 'sitting out" info with a Quick sized grain of salt
by southern oregon on Aug 18, 2010 2:10 PM PDT reply actions
Bedgers can't recognize he's a cancer
bcause he has curly hair and a heavy accent. He should not be allowed on the bench but I think there are rules against preventing a a player from the team facilities. Therefore, he must be buried deep on the end of the bench where he can pretend to cheer for his team but not actually get into a huddle. My, oh my, what’s going through his mind..
You can suspend a player with pay at any time and send him home asking him to keep himself ready for training or play.
What the Pacers did with Tinsley, or the Knicks with Marbury. What the Blazers should have done with Miles.
"Listening to the media only increases your odds of failing at whatever you are doing" - Mark Cuban
I just came back from the grocers to hear the Quick story
It’s a moot point now I guess. It’s a real shame he’s taking a roster spot. That will affect us very unhappily.
Whaaaaat?
When Rudy came to the NBA, he was at that point certainly the No. 1 player in Spain and one of the top players in the NBA.
"What you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. May God have mercy on your soul."
Yea I just read the comments.
"What you have just said is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. Everyone in this room is now dumber for having listened to it. May God have mercy on your soul."
I want a prize for being the first to post it
I would accept a clean sock or nice-looking stick.
Disclaimer: everything I know about basketball I learned on Blazersedge.
To think that I wanted to trade Rudy for Collison at one point last season.
It’s crazy how much things have changed since then.
"Nicolas! You're the strongest boy in the world!"
Let's send him to the d-league. He can get all the playing time he wants there.
"Nicolas! You're the strongest boy in the world!"
Players are not eligible for the d-league after their first two years in the NBA
No matter how often that idea comes up :)
San Antonio planned to challenge that for Mahinmi, but it led nowhere.
"Listening to the media only increases your odds of failing at whatever you are doing" - Mark Cuban
by Norsktroll on Aug 18, 2010 2:42 PM PDT up reply actions 2 recs
I'm a Chargers fan
And I’m just sick of hold outs. Young athletes who feel entitled to to get everything they want. Rudy’s got to understand that the NBA wasn’t going to hand him a seat at the All-star game and an MVP trophy. You have got to work hard and prove yourself everyday. We won’t give you everything because you were a top player in another League. You’ve gotta fight for your right to shoot 3s
The 2012-13 NBA season: a dynasty begins.
wow
Jason Quick (@jwquick) reporting on 95.5FM that Rudy Fernandez “will not report to training camp”.
/cambyfive
I no longer believe anything from Quick
Unless we get a 24 hour drama warning.
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
I still hope he plays and has a great year as a blazer.
All of this sounds way overblown. There’s been players who have asked for a trade before, it didn’t happen and everything still worked out fine. I don’t think Rudy dislikes it enough to sit out.
I love B Edge almost as much as I love B Roy and close to my love for B atum
I read it
number of quotes from Rudy himself, 0. Number of times Jason Quick has been wrong, infinity
I love B Edge almost as much as I love B Roy and close to my love for B atum
Cho's quote below however are a lot more depressing
I love B Edge almost as much as I love B Roy and close to my love for B atum
Huh? How does that work?
Rubio’s rights are held by Minny. He’s either a valuable player or a valuable asset for them. He can’t just decide to come to Portland.
Still on the Rex bandwagon.
Has his agent forgot about a 7 foot spaniard who plays for the lakers?
"Good, Better, Best, never let it rest until your good is your better and your better is your best." Tim Duncan
Cho on 95.5 right now
Just repeating usual management speak:
“Unfortunate situation”
“Going to do what’s best for the team”
“Not going to make a trade just to make a trade”
“I’m not going to be strong armed into deal”
“If he doesn’t show, we’ll follow the CBA rules, i.e., suspend him”
by mas1983 on Aug 18, 2010 2:57 PM PDT reply actions 2 recs
that's kinda awesome
"I’m not going to be strong armed into deal"
"If he doesn’t show, we’ll follow the CBA rules, i.e., suspend him"
I’d meet BRP at the airport, not flee!! - fanfaraway
My favorite part of that quote
Rudy and his agent have undercut Cho’s position to deal, and it’s not like Rudy has any other leverage.
James, Wade, and Bosh = the Nazgul. Once they were great kings, until their greed got the best of them in their lust for the ring.
by blazeraddict on Aug 18, 2010 4:25 PM PDT up reply actions
"We are going to do what is best for the organization" Rich Cho on 95.5 the game
? if he doesn’t show up for training camp?
“he would be subject to fines and suspension”
“I’ll listen to any offer, but I’m not going to make a bad deal”
“It’s unfortunate that he feels this way and it’s unfortunate he is making these statements public…I’m not going to be strong-armed into making a deal”
wake me in 2011
Cho sez:
“It’s not like he’s helping a deal get done with these statements”
You can’t act like a diva and make demands when you haven’t done anything really in the league.
NBA teams don’t just fold for a 6th man at best. He’ll regret this decision.
But he's one of the best players in the NBA...
If CP3 and Melo can do it, why can’t Rudy?
But he dunked on Dwight Howard!?! Remember?!?! Remember!?!?!
Never has one man gotten SO much mileage out of a dunk in a losing effort.
Can any one explain to me .....
the leverage that Rudy and his agent think they have?
My understanding is that the Euro leagues/teams respect the NBA contracts. Thus, if the Blazers don’t release Rudy, he won’t be able to play in Europe. If that is true, then it seems to me that they are at the mercy of the blazers, and they should be playing nicely to get out of Portland.
At this point, if the Blazers can’t get anything for Rudy, they should just let him sit on the bench.
Agreed
I said above it was like Haynesworth and the Redskins this year. Training camp started, and he’s on the field in burgundy and gold. Same will happen to Rudy unless we get good trade value
He would likely get suspended for 1 year if he doesn't render services
That last happened with Jason Williams, who signed a multi-year deal with the Clippers but then decided for whatever reason that he didn’t want to play there. Got suspended for 1 year, tried to appeal for the playoffs to sign with a contender, got denied, and then signed with Orlando the following season.
Not all European teams respect the CBA, but it’s fairly safe to say that most of the big clubs and leagues do. On the other hand, I’m not sure if the Blazers want a Marbury or Tinsley situation with a player sitting around at home and making more and more dumb remarks to the press, as well as the NBA players association asking the team publicly to make a trade or waive the player (which they did in both of those cases).
"Listening to the media only increases your odds of failing at whatever you are doing" - Mark Cuban
The roster spot is blocked
If you want to free it, trade the player (for something or “nothing” like the rights to some guy who will never play in the NBA anymore or ever), waive him outright at full price, or negotiate a buyout.
"Listening to the media only increases your odds of failing at whatever you are doing" - Mark Cuban
White Chocolate didn't get suspended
He “retired,” then tried to unretire before the mandatory 12-month retirement period was up. Would that apply to Rudy if he retired then went to play in Europe?
He 'retired' about as much as Jordan to play baseball ;-)
"Listening to the media only increases your odds of failing at whatever you are doing" - Mark Cuban
After reading what Sterling had to say about his newest offseason acquisitions
I’d probably go pick up a bat too. Referring to Randy Foye as “whatshisname”? Really???
I thought Jason Williams retired
Which got rid of his old contract.
I suspect this is about Rudy's agent being ticked off at Cho.
Saying that Rudy doesn’t want to play in the NBA at all anymore, for anyone, makes Rudy almost untradeable. It doesn’t make sense as a move to help Rudy in the short term.
But it makes perfect sense as payback. Here’s the scenario I’m imagining: When Cho first arrived, Andy Miller asked him to trade Rudy. Cho said he’d try. Teams made offers, Cho turned them down.
In our GM’s mind, none of the offers he received were fair value. But Miller thinks that one or more of those offers were perfectly good. He feels that Cho strung him along, without making a good-faith effort at a trade.
So this isn’t about what’s best for Rudy as much as it’s about Miller’s credibility. He wants GMs to know that when he asks them nicely to trade a player, they should do so before the player loses any more value. This is what ‘losing more value’ looks like.
doe OE burn?
I'm a grown man stuck inside the mind of a 3 year old
by The Arkitect on Aug 18, 2010 3:13 PM PDT up reply actions
Drink the 40 first. Let it process. THEN "pour" the forty out on the shirt.
Wonder how many #5 jersies will be at Value Village/Goodwill by the time this is all done?
by ArbyOSU on Aug 18, 2010 3:44 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
What's the worst possible outcome for the Blazers?
Will future European players, like Claver, be more reluctant to come over?
Will the Blazers have an empty, unproductive roster spot for two years?
Will the Blazers cut bait and basically waste a 2007 draft pick?
If the Blazers call Rudy’s bluff, will he sit around and complain for two years, becoming long term, PR headache?
What else?
Best case
Trade him to Toronto for a future pick
by southern oregon on Aug 18, 2010 3:31 PM PDT up reply actions
hopefully no more Spanish players come over
We only want French guys now.
Okay leave now Fernandez
Rookie year everyone loved you second year most people didn’t like you, now everyone hates you.
by collectiveshane on Aug 18, 2010 3:13 PM PDT reply actions
Does this situation seem like Kirilenko a while back?
Intense saber rattling from agent. Team (the Jazz in this case) calls bluff. Player shows up to camp and all is forgotten. Player performs well, if not spectacularly.
It wouldn’t shock me if Rudy shows up, and life goes on. But I don’t know anything. Am I wrong?
Or Darko
Player announces firm intent to go back and play in Europe, player gets traded for peanuts, player likes new coach, coach and GM convince player to re-sign to multi-year deal.
"Listening to the media only increases your odds of failing at whatever you are doing" - Mark Cuban
More from BTS
Miller said three-plus months’ worth of trade talks have not resulted in progress. As a result, the Blazers guard is seeking an “amicable divorce” from the organization. Moreover, Fernandez has no intention of playing in the NBA next season, and wants to immediately resume his career in Europe. Fernandez is even wiling to be fined by the Blazers or engage in legal proceedings, rather than return to the team.
hmmmm…what happened to willing to sit out the 2 years?
wake me in 2011
PA vs. Rudy 2010
Wonder how the lawyers Rudy hires with his $1.75M salary will stack up to an angry Paul Allen’s army of lawyers that probably each make more than Rudy per year…
nah na nah nah, nah na nah na, hey hey-yay, GOOD BYE!
Let’s meet him at the airport next time he flies back to Spain, and let’s all sing that song! Rub the little baby’s face in his own excrement. What a pathetic jerk.
The tawdry and the salacious occupy our time and energy. We do not see the walls falling around us. We invest our intellectual and emotional energy in the inane and the absurd, the empty amusements that preoccupy a degenerate culture, so that when the final collapse arrives we can be herded, uncomprehending and fearful, into the inferno.
The situation with Rudy is like.........
That girlfriend you always thought you wanted. You got her, but something just wasn’t right. You stay together for longer than you probably should have because deep down you knew it wasn’t a good fit. Inevitable.
I'm a little confused by your tactics
by oderiferous emanations 74 on Aug 18, 2010 3:31 PM PDT reply actions
OR the one
that ended up being a dude.
Kinda like that.
If what I just commented turns out to be wrong, please delete from all memory.
Man... now that one was a real pain in the...
ummm. nevermind
Portland could coast along with their superior talent and stay right with us. Now that Portland woke up, the hammer cometh down.
Bayless > Daffy Duck after 3 cans of rockstar
by Batumshakalaka on Aug 18, 2010 3:47 PM PDT up reply actions
Yes
I hate when that happens……….Or do I ?
I'm a little confused by your tactics
by oderiferous emanations 74 on Aug 18, 2010 3:48 PM PDT up reply actions
Let Him Go!
Let Rudy go and live by the sea! He must live by the sea to be happy!
I'm a little confused by your tactics
by oderiferous emanations 74 on Aug 18, 2010 4:01 PM PDT reply actions
He has the contract he wants on the table from Olympiacos and he and his agent will now force the Blazers to release him. The contract is 3 years at €7.2 million euros net income (after taxes) with his agent’s fees paid for by the club. It is = to a 3 year $17.6 million gross NBA contract with the current exchange rates.
This is according to various rumors going through the agent’s circles in Europe.
I'll miss him. I still like him.
Damn the Blazers. Damn them to hell. - 'The Sports Guy' Bill Simmons
No. 1 in Spain but not in the NBA
Rudy may be the top player in Spain but the way he is now, he’s a specialist/role player. He may have the potential to be a star player but Portland is not where that’s going to happen.
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