Rudy! Rudy! Blazer Fans Hang Up Banner as Euro-Star Fernandez Arrives

With the arrival of Brandon Roy as an All-Star, the anticipation of Greg Oden having All-Star impact, the continued development of LaMarcus Aldridge, Travis Outlaw, and Martell Webster, Portland fans have been pretty jacked up since the end of the season.

Unlike recent off seasons, the Blazers are still in the news pretty regularly. People have been arguing about how many titles they will win over the next decade or so and when the first one will land.

Of course, they have not even made the playoffs yet, but that is the great part about being a fan. Optimism is always welcome.

But if expectations already crowded the boundaries of believability, an event in Spain has done nothing to bring Blazermania back to earth. Superstar Rudy Fernandez announced today he will not be returning to his team but will play in the NBA next year.

Within 30 minutes of his press conference I heard no less than three locals predict a title NEXT YEAR. 2009. Wow, nothing unrealistic about that but let's step back and breathe for a few seconds here.

It reminds me of when the Blazers acquired Scottie Pippen. Instantly there were predictions of 70 win seasons and three-peats, though of course they never even made the Finals with him.

Fernandez has great potential. I have even heard a few non-homers who claim Fernandez would be the third pick in this year's draft. Okay. But there have been a lot of "sure-fire greats" who were picked pretty high that never fulfilled their promise.

There have been some who were everything they were billed, but those have been few and far between. It is hard to say, before he even picks up an NBA basketball, that Fernandez is the next Steve Nash and not the next Drazen Petrovich*.

Furthermore, he plays an unfortunate position, shooting guard. The current occupant of that role is Brandon Roy. While many people refer to him as the Blazers' point guard of the future, that moment remains the future.

Roy has some ball handling issues that keep him from being ready to run the point at this stage of his career. He will continue to get the bulk of his minutes at the shooting guard which means Fernandez must get his minutes elsewhere.

But where?

The Blazers' front court is overloaded. Oden will start at center of course, and Aldridge at power forward. With Oden expected to pick up a lot of fouls, Joel Przybilla will be kept on hand to back him up at center. Also, barring a trade, Channing Frye will back up Aldridge.

The small forward position is far and away the most unsettled. Martell Webster struggled in the role last year, James Jones fought injuries, and Travis Outlaw was just growing into the role. Though there are some who question if Outlaw is better suited to the power forward role.

The Blazers have shown no inclination to move Roy into the power forward role, for which he is vastly unsuited. That just leaves the back court to find a home for Fernandez.

There the Blazers are overrun with players who are, outside of Roy, vastly undersized.

Jarrett Jack is very much a combo guard who is a better shooting guard than point but is too small to play there much of the time. He is the best slasher in the back court outside of Roy but sometimes struggles with his long range shot.

Steve Blake provides steady, veteran leadership and clutch shooting but is too slow to keep up with the top point guards.

Sergio Rodriguez is touted as the point guard of the future, if he can ever climb out of Coach McMillans' doghouse.

Clearly, point guard and small forward are the weak spots. Fernandez fills neither of those roles and, arguably, will not free up Roy for one. It is possible he will be the world-beater many fans believe he is, and will seize the shooting guard role.

This will allow the Blazers to sneak by with Roy handling the point duties. The team will then be able to trade some of their dependable reserves to upgrade their small forward position. Or, if Outlaw takes the starting job, their bench.

The more likely scenario still has the Blazers trading some combination of reserves and picks for either an upgrade at point or small forward and Fernandez coming in off the bench. A role he is reputedly unwilling to play.

This could adversely affect the vaunted chemistry that allowed a young, oft-injured team to go .500 this past season. Obviously, as a die hard Blazer fan, it is my hope this is not the case, but realistically it is a possibility.

So ultimately, what does the expected arrival of Fernandez do for the Blazers?

It brings possibilities. It allows GM Kevin Pritchard a bit more leverage when trying to work a deal. It might even shelve the nonsensical talk of bringing Ben Gordon to Portland. Not that Gordon is not a good player, but do they really NEED another shooting guard?

Other rumors have the Bulls dealing Kirk Hinrich and explaining why he would be a good fit in Portland. Well, maybe. If a deal could be arranged where the numbers match up and they don't have to give up too much to get him.

Time will tell what Rudy's arrival means. For now though, Blazer fans let's get excited, but let's wait to hang the Championship banner until we at least see what we have. Oh, and manage to win a few playoff games, or at least reach the playoffs!

*For those who never saw him play, Drazen Petrovich was one of the first Euro players brought into the NBA. Petro's unfortunate premature death lionized him in a lot of memories but his time in the NBA was hardly dominant. He was a great shooter who was at best a mediocre rebounder, passer, and defender. He filled a great role in New Jersey after some pretty forgettable years on a Portland team that needed his shooting.