FanPost

Can we interest you in Rudy Fernandez?

As is no longer much of a secret, Rudy Fernandez wants out of Portland. This is a shame. It was only the previous season where he was probably a lot of people's fave Blazer. Remember this?

Of course you do. And there were so many fun times like that. It seems like yesterday. But then, one rookie record for three pointers later, it all started to go wrong. First, we (i.e., the Blazers, because I come to you from Blazers Edge) traded Rudy's bestest buddy Sergio, source of all those nice alley-oops:

But even before that, there was this:

It was clear that Rudy felt the after effects right into this past season, where he ended up having minor back surgery. He clearly didn't fully recover and wasn't himself right up into the playoffs. But it didn't help that Nate McMillan does not have a place for players like Rudy who like to gamble (he was racking up a ton of steals early this past season before the surgery) and run and throw flashy passes:

Nate likes simple, plodding, fundamental basketball. So Rudy wants out. But where can he go? Who would want him? I figure the Suns! You've lost Barbosa. You have a bazillion forwards (Warrick, Hedo, Hill, Childress, Clark, Dudley, and that's counting Frye as a center) but no backup SG. Sure, you can play Hill and Childress at SG for spells, but neither of them is ideal there, particularly as neither is a three point threat. And all we ask in return is Jared Dudley. Oh sure, you all love Dudley. He's a great interview and a real glue guy, not to mention probably your best defender last year. But now you have Childress. Won't he take up a lot of Dudley's time? Not to mention Hedo. And trust me, if Rudy could recapture his rookie form, you'd love him just as much (and he's a lot more exciting to watch). And I think he could. Remember what happened to Channing Frye when he made the switch? And he hasn't got half the skills Rudy has. Tell you what, we'll even throw in ASU product Pendergraph to replace the soon-to-depart Lou Amundson. Whaddya say? Will you at least think it over? Here's a final taster of what you could expect: