At the urging of Rudy Fernandez and his agent, the Trail Blazers have engaged in accelerated trade discussions to deal the disgruntled, once-popular shooting guard to one of three Eastern Conference teams.
Boston, Chicago and New York are all in the running to land the 6-foot-6 Spaniard, who set an NBA rookie record two seasons ago by making 159 three-pointers.Fernandez has two years remaining on his contract, which will pay him $1.25 million next season. The Blazers acquired Fernandez, along with James Jones, from Phoenix for cash considerations on draft night 2007. Fernandez signed with Portland in July 2008, ending his seven-year career in the Spanish ACB League.
Some of the teams interested in Fernandez have offered a future first round draft pick, while other offers would pair Fernandez with another Blazers player, but agent Andy Miller would not get into specifics.
A future 1st round pick seems to make sense.
Could the Celtics offer Rasheed Wallace's contract in a deal for Fernandez and another player? Yes, but I don't see who could be shipped back in return. Portland is right at the luxury tax threshold, so there's really no reason to dump salary.
On Page 2, one reader's creative Photoshop response to the news the Celtics are interested in Delonte West.
Thanks to Brent Donley for the pic