NBA Rumors: Blazers Actively Seeking Trading Partners for Rudy Fernandez

Thanks to Oregonian insider Jason Quick (via Twitter), the Portland Trail Blazers are actively pursuing a trade that would ship once promising Spaniard Rudy Fernandez out of town for good.

The report came directly from Rudy's agent, Andy Miller, and was relayed on to Jason Quick.

As reported,  the Portland Trail Blazers are currently talking to the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, and Chicago Bulls. Funny, huh?

Funny because those were the teams that he requested he be traded to. (see: Rudy's List )

So which of the three teams would be best for the Blazers?

Well really, I already wrote this piece when Rudy originally released his "List", So I will quote myself.

For the second year in a row the Portland Trail Blazers made a “toxic” offer to a restricted free agent and forced the Jazz to make tough decisions, both times restricting their financial freedom.

First, it was an offer to Paul Millsap that forced the team to eventually drop starting shooting guard Ronnie Brewer, along with Eric Maynor, and drift past the salary cap threshold and into cap penalties. The effects are still being felt after another offer from the Trail Blazers forced the Jazz to cut and settle for lesser options, allowing the Blazers to land a coach favorite in Wesley Matthews for (a pricey) five years and $32.7 million.

But by adding depth and defense to the second unit, the team will more than likely have to part ways with a fan favorite, one that is an offensive threat when healthy and confident.

Rudy Fernandez has said that he doesn’t want to be here.

He has said that he and the coach don’t always see eye to eye.

And just recently he told us which teams he would like to be traded to.

Via Twitter…

According to a Blazers Source , Rudy Fernandez has a list of five teams he would like to play for. That list includes the Knicks, Nets, Bulls, Celtics, and the Heat.

So which teams would actually be decent trade partners for the Blazers?

The New York Knicks

The New York Knicks have made their interest known and have been in talks with the Organization, but unfortunately for the Blazers, Knicks roster isn’t appealing and won’t facilitate any reasonable trades.

Wilson Chandler seems to be the only player the Knicks would part with in a deal for Rudy Fernandez, but a recent encounter with the law for marijuana possession would violate moral restrictions surrounding the Trail Blazers organization.

So unless this becomes a three-team deal, Rudy Fernandez isn’t going to New York anytime soon.

...

The Chicago Bulls

From reports before the draft, the two teams were in talks that would send at least two players to the Bulls in return for Luol Deng. Even in early July, there were reports of talks between the two teams that had Jerryd Bayless and Joel Pryzbilla going to Chicago for Luol Deng. Although the main purpose behind the move was to cut salary and since the team has no chance of signing two max free agents, common sense says that this deal is dead.

Maybe if the Blazers threw in Rudy Fernandez, the deal would go through, but it seems unlikely since the Bulls roster seems to be almost entirely set with the additions of Kyle Korver and Carlos Boozer. If the Bulls are going to trade anyone, it would be someone the Blazers aren’t interested in.

The Boston Celtics

If the Boston Celtics wanted Rudy Fernandez, I would be surprised. Nate McMillan and Doc Rivers are somewhat similar coaches that will expect the same things out of their players.

Limited mistakes and a team defense mentality.

Maybe I should have asked why Rudy wants to go to Boston…

If Rudy were to be sent to Boston, he would experience the same frustration and limited minutes as he would here in Portland. But for the article's sake, what could Portland get in exchange for Rudy?

One player that the Blazers have had talks over in the past is Nate Robinson. The former dunk contest winner has had issues seeing eye to eye with coach Doc Rivers in the past and, if the Celtics could get something in return, the team wouldn’t kill themselves over parting with Robinson.

The 5′9″ point guard has enough experience under his belt to make him more valuable to a team like Portland whom has, in recent years, said they would like to add playoff experience to their squad, but Robinson is young enough that it wouldn’t be like adding a Juwan Howard with a one-year contract. Nate would be a guy that, if he fit with Nate’s system, he could end up playing for Portland long term.

But the problem is money wise. Portland, with the addition of Wesley Matthews , has emptied their pockets. They have enough room to offer either rookie guard Armon Johnson or second-year Australian point guard Patty Mills a non-guaranteed contract, but after that, there is little room to maneuver.

In this situation, the bi-annual exception can be thrown out because the rule only applies to teams attempting to sign a player with a contract starting at $1.672 million. Nate Robinson’s Contract is worth $8 million over two years.

And since the Celtics just (and I mean just) resigned the guard to a new deal, I doubt a change of scenery would be in place.

But if it were to happen, The Blazers would likely have to give up Rudy Fernandez ($1,165,320 salary) and Jerryd Bayless ($2,143,080 salary) for Nate Robinson and that is something that just wont happen.

The deal is extremely unlikely, but so far it seems to be the only one that works… Sort of…

 

So to sum it all up, the Blazers' options in this situation suck.

There isn't really a clear cut scenario that I think both teams would agree to. But, for speculation's sake, is this part of a multi-part deal to get another expiring contract, eventually resulting in Chris Paul becoming a Portland Trail Blazer?

Oh how I enjoy conspiracy theories...

Thanks for reading.

Article Courtesy Of Rip City Report