Uh oh. Things just got interesting.
From Chris Sheridan at ESPN...
Portland's pursuit of a certain player from Turkey has infuriated the Trail Blazers' lone remaining Spanish player, Rudy Fernandez, to the point where he'd prefer to play in Greece, Russia or even Spain again, ESPN.com learned Tuesday.
A league source told ESPN.com that Fernandez has already been courted informally by European powerhouses Olympiacos, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and CSKA Moscow as word spread that the Blazers had become the apparent front-runners to land free agent Hedo Turkoglu.
...
The Blazers have been made aware of Fernandez's feelings, the source said. The source added that Fernandez has not formally requested a trade but has expressed his dissatisfaction with the way he was used by Portland coach Nate McMillan over the course of his rookie season.
Click through to his full report to read the financial specifics and what would need to happen for Rudy to play abroad next year.
It's very difficult to imagine Rudy not being in the NBA next year. But perhaps this gives a little credence to potential trade whispers. At some point, something does have to give if you bring in Hedo. But I find it hard to believe that that "something" would be Rudy...
Speaking of Rudy, Casey Holdahl continues to hit homeruns with his coverage from Mallorca. Check it out!
Casey even took the following picture of a "furious" Rudy, clearly angered by all the Hedo talk.
IMPORTANT UPDATE::
4:33PM Check out this audio file of Rudy's assembled thoughts this week (likely taken before this morning's report) provided by Blazers.com World Traveler Casey Holdahl. A partial transcription...
I think it's difficult the first year... I think about my family when I'm in Portland... In Portland I'm very happy. The fans are incredible with me. The team is great, great players, great persons, I think everything is good.
Sergio helped me a lot in the transition the first year. But LA, Brandon, Joel, Travis everyone helped me transition to the team.
Everyday I think about Mallorca and Barcelona. My dream is to play in the NBA.
On Sergio's Trade...
I think it's an opportunity for Sergio to play in Sacramento. To play minutes. For me, I'm not happy that Sergio go to another team... but I have big friends in Portland, these are great guys. I'm happy because Sergio right now is happy.
Message to Fans in Portland...
I miss Portland, yes, for sure. I miss the fans. Thank you for coming to Mallorca to see the camp.
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)