Blazers intensify scouting of draft prospects – and keep an eye on Greg Oden

Team optimistic that Spanish guard Rudy Fernandez will jump to the NBA

By Kerry Eggers

The Portland Tribune, May 16, 2008, Updated Oct 30, 2009 (8 Reader comments)

Rudy Fernandez of Spain goes for a layup against Russia in the European Championships final at Moscow in September. The Blazers are optimistic that Fernandez will leave Europe for the NBA this season.

PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / GETTY IMAGES

On Monday, vacation ends for Nate McMillan – at least temporarily.

The Trail Blazer coach has enjoyed a few weeks of relaxation after the season, but he will convene next week with his assistant coaches, General Manager Kevin Pritchard and Portland’s scouting staff to prepare for the June 26 draft.

“It seems like it’s been forever since we last played,” McMillan says from North Carolina, where he is spending time visiting family and friends. “In watching all the playoff games, you realize how busy you were when the season was going on. But we’re all looking forward to getting back to work, watching video and getting reports from Kevin and his staff on (draft prospects).”

Pritchard, assistant GM Tom Penn, director of college scouting Chad Buchanan and director of NBA scouting Mike Born have met all week at the Blazers’ training facility to discuss the draft. The quartet spent several days in Spain late last month scouting talent as well as trying to secure negotiations to sign 2007 draft pick Rudy Fernandez.

The big news next week, though, is Tuesday’s draft lottery at Seacaucus, N.J. Portland is slotted 13th, and the probability of the Blazers landing the No. 1 pick for the second year in a row is .6 percent. A year ago, Portland had just a 5.3 percent chance but – with Pritchard carrying a lucky lady bug given to him by his daughter, Kendall – won and chose center Greg Oden.

Last year, guard Brandon Roy was the one smiling in front of cameras after getting the good news. This year, team President Larry Miller will represent the Blazers at the head table.

“I know I’ll be in the back, which is a good place for me,” Pritchard says. “And this year, I’m taking Kendall with me. If her lucky charm worked last year, I need something a little bigger this year.”

Odds are highest, though, that Portland will wind up with the 13th pick. There are plenty of small forwards who will be available in that vicinity, including a pair the Blazer brass watched while in Spain – Danilo Gallinari, 6-9 and 210 pounds from Italy, and Nicolas Batum, 6-7 and 185 from France.

Pritchard, who watched Fernandez play in one game during the visit to Spain, has been asked not to speak about the 6-6, 180-pound shooting guard, whom Portland got with the 24th pick in last year’s draft. The Blazers could sign Fernandez until May 31 – that’s not going to happen – or after June 30, when his contract with Joventut Badalona expires.

Fernandez – theMVP in all three major tournaments he played in this season – is arguably the hottest ticket in European basketball. He leads the Spanish League in scoring (21.2 points) while shooting 59 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range and 91 percent from the foul line.

But Fernandez can make only $873,200 his first season with the Blazers under the NBA’s rookie pay scale. He could make four to five times that in Europe next season, but Portland execs are optimistic that Fernandez, 23, will pass up the big money to give the NBA a try.

Blazer scouts think Fernandez is a shooting guard who can play some small forward and will eventually be able to play some at point guard. He is probably a year away from being NBA-ready, especially in getting accustomed to the physicality of the game. But Fernandez is talented enough that he could help the club immediately next season.

McMillan, meanwhile, recently met with Oden at an undisclosed location for a week to check on the progress of his rookie center, who continues to rehab the knee that underwent microfracture surgery last September. Oden is living in Columbus, Ohio, this summer, taking summer classes at Ohio State while he works on getting his knee back to full strength.

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