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Rudy Fernandez, the gift that keeps on scoring
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23-year old Rudy Fernandez is one of the best prospects
to enter the NBA this season
The Phoenix Suns travel to Portland on Thursday to take on the Trail Blazers for the third time already this season. Although they’ve won the first two meetings, 107-96 on November 1 and again three weeks later 102-92, I can’t help but sit and stir over what could’ve been.
Rudy Fernandez, the young Spanish guard that gave Team USA everything they could handle in this summer’s Olympic Gold Medal game, was drafted 24th overall by the Suns in the 2007 NBA Draft.
Almost as quickly as they called his name, Phoenix turned around and traded the rights to Fernandez along with swingman James Jones to the Trail Blazers for “cash considerations.”
In other words, they got jack squat for one of the best young talents in the world.
Fernandez, now in his rookie season with Portland, is averaging 11.1 points and 3.4 rebounds in 26.5 minutes a game off the bench. He’s made 53 three-pointers, leads the team in free throw percentage (93.0), and has only scored in single digits eight times in 26 games.
To make matters worse, it seems like the Suns face the Blazers every other week, keeping this should’ve-could’ve-would’ve wound all too fresh.
In their first meeting of the season, just three games into the year, Fernandez hung 20 points on 8 for 13 shooting on Phoenix in 22.5 minutes off the bench. Meanwhile, the cash that Phoenix got in return for the Spanish Magician went scoreless.
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Fernandez is averaging 11.1 points off the bench for Portland
so far this season. (AP Photo: Mary Altaffer)
Their second matchup in Phoenix three weeks later saw Fernandez in the midst of a shooting slump, where he managed just three points and three rebounds in 27 minutes. He made just one of his eight three-point attempts, but still outscored the cash he was traded for which was again scoreless.
Over the summer, Fernandez led the Spanish National Team in the Gold Medal game against the star-studded United States, and nearly lifted them to a colossal upset with his hot hand. He scored 22 points, including five three-pointers on 54 percent shooting, and one massive slam over USA’s Dwight Howard.
Portland head coach Nate McMillian, who was an assistant for Team USA, couldn’t help but be giddy at what he was seeing. I, however, just shook my head with discontent. I knew it was just a preview of the misery the Suns would bear every night he did that in the NBA.
He’s 23-years old, six-foot-six, and is just a blip on Portland’s payroll. The Spaniard will make just $1.08 million this season, and is signed to a five-year contract that ends in the 2012-13 season with a qualifying offer of $3.19 million. Oh, what the Suns would give for that now.
So while Phoenix tries to add to the NBA’s longest active win streak over another franchise (currently 11 straight over Portland), we can all watch Rudy Fernandez continue to emerge as one of the league’s brightest rookies, and wonder just what it would be like if he was checking in off the Suns’ bench.
Regardless of his performance, Fernandez will once more outplay the cash he was traded for. Which yet again, will be scoreless.
