Quote:
Originally Posted by jthig32
He'd be crazy to accept the deal, unless he's just completely done with the NBA.
He's about to get his fresh start with a new team. He stands to play significant minutes for this team next season. He'd be crazy to lock himself into a deal in Spain for money that he would easily make if he stayed here beyond next season.
I'd be pretty shocked if he took the deal. But if he does, I'd expect the Mavs to change their plans for next season and look to dump him. It's hard to see how he'd be focused next season knowing that he's done with the NBA after the season.
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I would be surprised if he goes anywhere anytime soon. I saw an interview with him about a week BEFORE the trade in which he said he wouldn't sign with a European team if it appeared the owners' lockout was going to last a couple of months; that he felt like it wouldn't be fair to the team he signed with to only go for a couple of months, and then leave mid-season when the NBA season resumed (presumably he was envisioning some kind of out-clause to return to the NBA). And again, this was BEFORE the trade with Dallas, about which he has seemed nothing but enthusiastic.
On the other hand, while he didn't address the subject of a season-long lockout, for a relatively low-earning player like he is, it seems like it would be difficult to begrudge them a whole season's earning power, particularly not knowing what the new CBA will mean for players like him. Who knows what the market will be? Players gotta eat.
FWIW, he seemed really humble in the interview, both in affect and in the content of what he said, and spoke admiringly of Brandon Roy, and how much Roy had helped him get acclimated to the league--no hint whatsoever of prima dona attitude or strained relations with teammates that Oregonian sportswriter/punk Jason Quick blathered on about to Galloway, and Fernández was really diplomatic about his relationship with Nate MacMillian, in a situation where he didn't necessarily have to be. Seems like he may've gotten a bit of an unfair rap by a hack sportswriter trying to sell stories and page hits.