Portland Trail Blazers guard Rudy Fernandez conducted an interview with Sport.es, as noted by ehmiliano in the FanShots. Fernandez reiterates that he is happy in Portland and discusses playing without Brandon Roy in the lineup.
Reader Jordi has provided the following translation of the interview. Follow him on Twitter here.
I read that you had bought a house and a car in Portland. Tell me more...
The car issue is right, but the house thing is not exactly that way. I do not have yet a contract worth enough to purchase a house here. I just moved to another one.
You have been saying that, right now, you are happy being a Blazer. Right?
Sure. I am really happy to have overcame this situation. Now I enjoy being in the court, coach gives me freedom. It is true that this new situation I have is partly due to injuries but the main thing is that I am feeling good on the court and that makes me feel good off the court too. Now I have more friends in Portland, my family and friends come here to visit me often and I am really focused on my job.
The injury of Brandon Roy and your great relationship with your teammate Patty Mills had a lot to do with your resurgence in this third year with the team...
Nobody likes to have this kind of opportunity because a teammate's injury. B-Roy is the reference of this team and a very important player. It is true that Mills has been very important on and off the court. We have a great friendship, we both are international players living far away from home and we help each other. I also have great relationship with Batum. Moreover, now I speak much better english and that helps me communicate better and do more things.
Not thinking of leaving any more?
I am very happy in Portland and I do not want to hear about a trade. If all continues as nowadays, maybe I would like to stay here for many years. I feel like a privileged and I am more mature. I spent an awful summer. That opened my eyes and I noticed I was playing in the best league. I want to enjoy this moment, I want to enjoy the NBA. I know this league it's kind of a rollercoaster, but I feel this as my best year here.
So, your return to Europe and more concretely the possibility of signing with FCBarcelona, is not regarded in the immediate future?
I never close the doors to nobody, in Europe or in the NBA. Who knows, maybe somebody makes me an offer and convinces me, but reality is that I have a contract with Portland and I am really happy here. They treat me very well and I feel this confidence.
This summer, did you saw yourself playing in Europe?
Sincerely, no, becuase I saw Portland wanting me to stay. I was not seeing the return close and finally who decides is the owner of your team. But I am happy and I have to thank them for giving me that confidence when I did not have it.
Blazers' President Larry Miller says that you just were homesick. Do you agree?
Maybe, being away from home it is always tough, and you can feel homesick. Now I am feeling better because I have better communications with my teammates.
What did you learn from that stormy summer?
Be more calm and not letting nobody to make decisions for myself. I am an adult person and I have to make my own decisions. There will be good and bad moments, and the bad ones are the tougher, but you gotta keep yourself calm and make decisions.
Are you happy with your actual role or we are yet to see Rudy's best version?
The Rudy we are seeing is the Rudy we know: aggressive, with energetic, driving to the basket, shooting outside shots, scoring. The last month and a half, I am feeling good.
How is your relationship with Coach McMillan and with GM Rich Cho?
I have always had a very good relationship, never had any problems. They are very happy, they let me know they are, and I hope to keep it this way. We had a meeting with McMillan to see what we could additionally bring to the team.
And what did he asked you to do?
He did not asked for anything, but I said him I felt better playing "pick and roll", that I have good court vision, good dribbling, good shooting but I also like to create. And all these things is what I have been doing. Also, with the second unit we run more and that's good to my playing style. We play more calm, more loose, without the pression of being substituted if anything goes wrong.
You have a contract until 2012, the lockout that seems to be coming will not affect you that hard...
I am calm because I have a contract, the only thing is if there is a lockout, I will not get paid until it ends.
-- Ben Golliver | benjamin.golliver@gmail.com | Twitter