BLAZERS NOTES: Fernandez shines; Howard 'can still play,' says Pritchard

By Kerry Eggers

The Portland Tribune, Sep 18, 2009, Updated Oct 30, 2009

JANEK SKARZYNSKI / GETTY IMAGES

Rudy Fernandez of world champion Spain looks to make a move around France's Nicolas Batum as the two Trail Blazers battle during the European championships in Katowice, Poland. Fernandez's team won 86-66 Thursday to reach the semifinals.

Rudy Fernandez was a major factor in Spain’s 86-66 rout of France Thursday in the semifinals of the European Championships in Katowice, Poland.

The Trail Blazers’ 6-5 guard drained three 3-pointers in the first quarter to help Spain bury France and advance to a Saturday date with the winner of the Turkey-Greece matchup.

Fernandez had 16 points, five rebounds and six steals in 31 minutes. He has hit 6 of 13 3-pointers and averaged 13.7 points in Spain’s first six games in the tournament.

Blazer teammate Nicolas Batum had a rough outing for France, going 2 for 7 from the field and 2 for 4 from the foul line in totaling seven points and four rebounds in 27 minutes.

“Rudy has been a sparkplug in a couple of Spain’s victories,” says Portland General Manager Kevin Pritchard, who was in Europe to watch some of qualifying-round games. “Rudy and Nicolas have both been terrific, and it’s been fun to watch.”

• Pritchard also watched Joel Freeland, a 6-11, 250-pound first-round Blazer pick in the 2006 draft, play for England.

“He has really become a good rebounder,” Pritchard says. “We hope to have him with us in the next couple of years.”

Freeland, 22, has at least three years left on his contract with Gran Canaria of the Spanish League, but an out clause makes him a possibility to leave for the NBA as soon as the 2010-11 season.

• Pritchard says he continues to talk daily with Arn Tellem, agent for LaMarcus Aldridge, as they negotiate a contract extension for the fourth-year Blazer forward.

Aldridge won’t command a maximum salary as did teammate Brandon Roy, which creates a bit of a dilemma as the sides bargain for an extension. The NBA won’t set its salary-cap figures for the 2010-11 season until next summer. With a maximum contract such as Roy’s, the Blazers can simply mark down “max deal,” and it will be adjusted when the cap is set. With a non-maximum contract, an exact figure must be agreed upon.

“We’re in a little bit of uncharted territory,” Pritchard says. “It brings a new variable to the equation. The process is more complex.

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