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Originally Posted by fluid.forty.one
...Say you have faith that last year was a fluke because of injuries (which still is mind boggling to me, he played 75% of the season)... He's not going to get more than 23 minutes here. How do you think this is a good fit for him? And why would you believe that he'll be happy here with less than 23 minutes if he wasn't happy in portland with less than 23 minutes?
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Fluid, how sure can we be that it's the number of minutes? My sense is that he doesn't feel McMillian is respects him, or intends to use him in a way that highlights his strengths. (He may well feel that the same thing happened to Sergio Rodriguez. ) McMillian says the right things in print, but...you know...lip service. And yeah, the reality is that Rudy's vying for minutes behind a guy who's a young, stud, All-Star. He's not going to beat out Brandon Roy for a starter's spot. And Roy, unless he's injured, is gonna command heavy minutes for the next few years.
Players get askew with coaches all the time (like employees with bosses everywhere). I can imagine that it's really difficult to get realigned in that situation, particularly when there are issues of cultural differences, and cultural acclimation. Look no further than a young talent like Anthony Randolph in Golden State playing for infamously difficult-on-rookies Nellie. In fact, that's an interesting parallel. Randolph showed really good skills as a rookie, but he claims Nellie told him to just focus on rebounding. They got cross-wise, Randolph's minutes got irregular. Then he got injured. He didn't trust Nellie. Nellie, as has increasingly been the case, found it easier to discard a young talent rather reconcile and develop him. (Dirk is the lucky exception.) But people look at the skills Randolph has shown, and you'd have to look really hard to find a person who isn't looking for him to break out in New York with minutes and opportunityi.
I would think any player who has any aspiration wants to feel valued, not marginalized. It sounds like McMillian and the Blazers have pretty much marginalized Fernandez.
Why would a team be willing to risk taking on a player with attutide issues? A lot of times, just a change of scenery takes care of the problem. A player with any sense who's had problems in a previous situation with a previous coach, will understand the danger of getting a reputation as a head case, and the narrow margin for f-ups keeps him focused.
I think that in Dallas Fernández would get a decent shot at showing different aspects of his game. Paired with Kidd, he'd be a shooter. With Beaubois, whose playmaking and decision making are still developing, Fernández might be called on a little more to be a passer and playmaker. I tend to think that as long as he got an opportunity to play and show what he could do, the attitude issues would dissipate. Given the talent he's shown and the minimal investment required, I'd be willing to see what happened.
That said, I'm not sure that Dallas is the best opportunity for Fernandez. The Knicks, for example, would be a lot more likely to give him the best opportunity for big minutes and free rein. Chicago would be the best opportunity to catch on with a team on the cusp of making a dramatic improvement. He wouldn't be as featured a player there because of the talent there (Rose, Deng, Boozer), but if he wanted to fit with a team on the way up, Chicago is a good opportunity. In Boston, he'd be more of a role player, playing behind Ray Allen who's on his last legs. But Boston's team defense would cover for his individual deficiencies. AND they seem to be the team with the most interest in him and the most to offer Portland in exchange.
I'm soured on the pro sports for a lot of reasons, and pay about a tenth as much attention as I used to. But watching a young player with talent get an opportunity to develop is one of the few things about the NBA that catches my attention anymore. Fernández will be on my list next year, and I hope to be able to say "I told you so." Força, Rudy!