What has Rudy proven in the NBA other than he's a soft jump-shooter who can't defend? (And I mean he is a horrific on-ball defender. One of the worst in the NBA. His best move on defense is flopping and throwing his hands in the air). What has he done to prove he's a starter? Zippo. By the way, it's only August. Why doesn't he act like an adult until something happens? What Rudy's done is cat-scratch himself into a corner with no leverage. Now that he's tanked his NBA trade value even lower, the Blazers should respond by making him sit in a corner for two years with a dunce cap on.
I wouldn't be surprised to find a year's worth of tampons in the guy's basement. Dude is always PMSing
It is no different than what a ton of other players did, sometimes you have to speak up a little bit to be heard. The squeaky wheel gets the grease.....he is lost on that team, no room for him at all, they got Roy, they don't have room for Fernandez too. It happens all the time, good players need to get to a situation where they can play...... Portland seems to do this a lot....Drazen Petrovic, Jermaine O'neal...and now Rudy..... I hope it works out for everyone...I would love to see Rudy somewhere that fits his game....he can really play. DD
You actually sounded like a compassionate human being up until your last sentence with the "assets" nonsense. Who wins? An owner with his "assets" or a human who would like to fulfill his potential and perhaps enjoy life.
The problem is Rudy has no leverage. He isn't some great prize that other teams are beating the doors down to get. Losing him won't be that big a deal for the Blazers. The fact he wasn't able to play his way into more minutes last season shows he isn't so great after all. He's just the latest player you've latched on to. It's always somebody. Langhi, V-Span, Ramon Sessions and now Rudy. Rudy will end up back in Europe at some point, but it definitely won't be on his terms. He's blown that by acting like a diva.
It has nothing to do with what I like etc. It has to do with a guy that is stuck behind a better player who plays major minutes and thus stops another good player from getting on the floor. It has happened to TONS of NBA Players.... Steve Nash, Dale Ellis, Jermaine O'neal, Drazen Petrovic, Tracy McGrady (it hurts just typing that)....lots of players have to move to a better situation for them to grow. As for acting like a diva,.....Meh...who the hell cares? Players do it all the time.....they whine about everything....ignore all that, try to look beyond that into the reasons for it. A player has a shelf life, only so many years they can play, and Rudy has done the team thing for Portland for 2 years, it is fairly obvious that they are set on Brandon Roy...as they should be, he has asked them to move him....several times and they ignored him......now he is doing exactly what Revis is doing in the NFL.....using the only leverage he has....holding out....to force their hand. Sometimes, it is just the right thing to do...... Who cares if the fans whine or complain about it, he has to do whatever is in his own best interests.... DD
DD, I'll repeat myself: It's only August. Last season ended only 2 months ago. The season isn't close to starting. Brandon Roy didn't stop Rudy from getting on the floor. Rudy played 23 mins/game last season, shot 38% and couldn't stop my mother-in-law on defense. THAT is the problem. He's blaming circumstances instead of his own shortcomings. That's life in the NBA when you are a paper-thin 6'6, 185 lbs and can't punch your way out of a paper bag. I've watched Rudy for 2 years now. He just isn't cut out to be exceptional in the NBA. The notion of him being a starter is a joke, unless your talking about a bottom-feeder. He was a novelty as a rookie but on his 2nd trip around, the league has him pretty much figured out. Unless he gets some handles, learns to beat guys off the dribble and finish strong at the rim, Rudy will always be just a butterfly in the NBA. The game against Team USA in the Olympics was great. Some of the flashes he showed as a rookie were too. But he needs to completely dedicate himself to basketball and improve, which clearly didn't happen last summer. The league has caught up to him. The "book" has been written and edited. That's HIS problem. At this level, things don't come easy. Players have to work harder than ever. Rudy hasn't figured this out yet. Unless you are a special talent (which Rudy definitely is NOT), things don't get handed to you. Rudy's upside potential is Mike Miller, though I doubt he would ever achieve that level if he stays in the NBA. Of course since you like him and are a master psychologist, you overlook his diva attitude even though he's done zip in the NBA. Try to be consistent, though that is not your strong suit. Since it's just "meh", please don't ever use the term again in a negative manner against other players.
Use a TE + rights to Eliyahu so the Blazers can save face (I think Eliyahu has trade value but isn't a NBA player), but only if the Rockets have a deal in place where they can use him as a piece in a trade package. e.g POR receives: TE + rights to Eliyahu HOU sends: xxx + xxx + Rudy + etc... for Melo/???
I know he struggled last year, but do you guys think he was just not happy? I think Rudy can play, and in the right situation thrive. He is not going to play much behind Brandon Roy.....so he wants to go somewhere that he gets to play. Tell ya what, watch Kyle Lowry and Aaron Brooks if we keep them together, and if one of them starts to get marginalized, you just might see the same type of squaking. DD
He was probably refering to the time when you made that "art of the deal" thread criticizing DM for waiting too long to make the Tmac trade. Your point now is like the complete opposite of what you were saying before Back on topic, I don't think RF is feeling entitled about his status as an NBA player, as Rockbox already said he's perfectly willing to forego the NBA $$$ if he can play in Spain again. Totally different from the pussying out Stephen Jackson did when he signed a huge extension then started making noise about wanting to be traded. I agree with you though, RF deserves to start in this league, and the Blazers should have traded him for a first round pick.
How is playing 23 mins/game the same as "not playing"? Can you read? Playing WELL is Rudy's problem, not minutes. Playing that poorly, his 23 mins/game was actually too much. Let's give up the non-existent, phantom point and address facts. Or do you deliberately choose to avoid them.
I'm sorry. As much as I have disagreed with DD on many of his man-crushes in the past, I got to come to his defense in regards to Rudy Fernandez. Now, I'll say that it's possible that Fernandez will never expand his game, but it's also certain that the Blazers have basically shut down his game to that of a shooter only. Fernandez 2 year career stats. Shot attempts: 1053 3 pt attempts: 664 (63% of all his shots came from behind the arc. For reference, Shane attempted 64% of all his shots from behind the arc during the same period) FG%: 40% - Low eFG%: 53% - fairly good TS%: 57% - very good (Fernandez, amazingly enough, actually gets to the foul line decently for a spot up shooter.) So does Rudy have a case? Perhaps. Obviously, the Blazers never wanted to expand his game, and preferred he just stuck around the 3pt line like a good soldier. And he's fed up. Or perhaps he showed the Blazers what he thinks he can do, and they said no. But it's not as if teams don't make mistakes in talent evaluation. As DD pointed out, plenty of players suck at one place and go on to blossom elsewhere. Whether Fernandez will do so is still up in the air. He could be like Ariza from LA to Houston, and show that he hit his limit. Or he could be like Ariza from Orlando to LA, going from nothing to starter on a championship team.
Seriously though, something has to be done about player forcing their team to make a move they may not want to make. It needs to be stopped or they might as well stop sifting contracts for more than year.
Rocket killer exactly look at Shandon Anderson killed the rockets when playing against them and killed the rockets when playing for them
